Unusual Encounter
by Sango Hikari
Summary: When Gaara returns to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, who should he bump into but...Hinata? Now featuring the pairing of Kiba and Temari! Now complete!
1. Meeting

**Title: **Unusual Encounter

**Summary: **When Gaara returns to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, who should be bump into but…Hinata?

**Pairing:** Gaara x Hinata

**Rating:** Teen for possible language and violence

**Spoilers: **Takes place after episode 135, when Naruto returns after his fight with Sasuke.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own this story, however strange it may be.

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_I realized that I exist to kill everyone other than myself. As long as I believe that, the world is beautiful…I fight only for myself and love only myself. That is the only love I need…_

_WHACK!_

"Staring off into space again, Gaara?" Temari stood holding her closed fan in one hand, signaling that she was the cause of the new bump on her brother's head. "Sorry to bring you out of your own little world, but we're here."

Gaara looked up, and sure enough, they had arrived at the Hidden Leaf Village. Temari sent a sideways glance at her brother. "What _were _you thinking about, anyway?" Gaara looked at her. "It's nothing. Let's go." He began to walk into the village, Temari and their other sibling, Kankuro, following him.

Things had certainly changed between the three since they had been deceived by Orochimaru and attacked Konoha with the Sound ninjas. For example, there was no way Temari would have gotten away with hitting her brother with her fan. She would most likely be dead by now. But, after his fight with Naruto, Gaara had become far less hostile, and didn't kill…much. He was also starting to recognize the two as his actual siblings, whereas before he had barely acknowledged them at all, let alone the fact that they were related.

_I've never thought of either of you as my siblings…_

Yes, he had indeed changed, though his appearance wasn't any less frightening. He still had those dark circles around his eyes; he most likely always would, as long as the demon was inside of him…

_BAM!_

Being lost in thought, he hadn't even noticed the young kunoichi that had been running towards him. She apparently didn't notice either, considering she had run into him and they were now both sprawled out on the ground. He looked at her. The girl had short blue hair and wore and tan jacket. The jacket was zipped up, so he couldn't see what she wore underneath, but saw that she had on blue capris with her shinobi tools attached to one of her legs.

"Ah!" The girl cried, noticing that she was slightly on top of him. She quickly moved, blushing slightly from embarrassment. "I'm sorry! Are you alright?" By this time she had stood up and was offering her hand to the strange boy with the gourd on his back. Gaara, being Gaara, ignored her outstretched hand and stood up himself. "Hn," was all he said; not a word, really, just a syllable.

"A-Ano," the shy girl replied. "I-I'm really sorry. I was late for a m-meeting with my squad..." She continued to ramble on about the mission she was about to receive, though all three of them stopped paying attention soon after the 'sorry' part.

_What's with this girl? _Temari wondered. _She sure does stutter a lot. It's hard to believe she's a ninja._ The girl had stopped talking now and was awkwardly looking down at her shoes, examining them as if they were about to sprout wings. "Hey," Temari said, causing her to look up from her sudden interest in the material covering her feet. "You're a ninja from this village, right?" The girl gave a small nod. "Can you tell us where the Hokage's office is? She called us here for some kind of mission or something."

"Oh, you mean Tsunade-sama?" the small kunoichi pointed to a building somewhat far away. "It's there." Temari gave a small nod of thanks. "A-Anyway, I'm really sorry for bumping into you." She gave a small bow of apology and began to walk off, since she was already late for whatever she was doing; the three had tuned out long before she started explaining where she had been heading before their encounter.

"Hey, what's your name?" Gaara, who had been silent (and usually was), suddenly asked. Kankuro and Temari looked at him in surprise; they weren't used to him actually participating in any sort of conversation. The girl, oblivious to the strange stares the boy was getting, answered, "H-Hyuuga Hinata."

Gaara acknowledged her reply with another "Hn." Obviously, he wasn't the kind who liked interacting with people; either that, or he had little experience with it, since all he really said most of the time were random letters combined to make some kind of non-existent word.

"A-Ano," Hinata, having a sudden surge of bravery (or idiocy, she didn't know which), said, getting the attention of the ninjas who were about to leave. "M-may I ask your names?"

At first, she thought the strangers would decline, but, to her surprise as well as his siblings, Gaara gave a simple answer: "Gaara of the Sand." The others, slowly recovering from the shock of hearing Gaara speak two whole sentences in one conversation, quickly-if not somewhat hesitantly-gave their names as well. Then they left, headed for the Hokage's office to find out why they had been summoned to the village of Konoha.

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"You're late, Hinata."

"I'm sorry, Kurenai-sensei," Hinata answered as she took her seat next to Kiba and Shino, who were absorbed in their own fascinating activities: Kiba was having some conversation with his dog, Akamaru, while Shino looked contently at the bugs crawling over his arms. Hinata shuttered; she wasn't quite used to Shino's bugs even after all the time they'd been on the same team.

Kuranai sighed. "It's alright, Hinata. It's not like the mission's going anywhere." She looked at her other two students, who were paying attention at the mention of 'mission'. "You've been assigned to protect someone and get him safely back to his home, the Country of Waves. He used to be a very talented ninja in his youth, but he's retired how. However, he still has many enemies that might still be after him. It's a B-rank mission."

"What do you mean? You're coming with us, right?" Kiba asked. Kuranai shook her head, explaining that she has her own mission.

"You guys will be fine. I believe in you."

----------

"Ah, you're here." Tsunada said as her three guests entered her office. "I see you made it here safely. Sorry to bring you out all the way from the Village Hidden in the Sand." She motioned for them to sit down, which they did.

"Why did you call us here, Hokage-sama?" Temari asked, her attitude almost preventing her from addressing the Fifth Hokage in the proper manner. Kankuro grunted beside her, while Gaara remained silent.

"Well, I have a squad of genins going on a mission today. I told them that it was a B-rank mission, but I just found out that it's most likely an A-rank. Unfortunately, while our village has mostly recovered, most of our Chuunins and Jounins are out on other missions, and we can't afford to send anyone else."

"So you called us," Kankuro said. _Again._ Tsunade nodded. "Yes, that's right. You did wonderful last time I asked for you. I'm sure this will be no problem."

"If I may ask, why not just send a different group, or at least give them a Chuunin to go with them?" Temari asked. It seemed odd to send a squad of only genins out to being with on a B-rank mission, let alone an A-rank.

"Unfortunately, they've already left. It's not that I don't trust them, they're all remarkable for their rank, but we have no idea how many enemies they'll encounter." Temari and Kankuro nodded, while Gaara remained as still and quiet as ever. Tsunade then filled them in on all the details, and the three were off.

**Author's notes:**

Gaara's thoughts at the beginning, where he was reflecting what he had said in the past, were written down sorely from memory. They may or may not be exactly correct. No plagiarism intended.

Also, I do realize that even if the relationship between the siblings has gottenbetter, Temari still woudn't be able to get away with hitting him with her fan. However, for the purpose of this story, she could.

* * *

And thus ends the first chapter of possibly the weirdest pairing in the history of Naruto. Reviews are greatly appreciated; if no one likes it, I won't continue. At this point, this is just an experiment. Thanks for reading! 


	2. Battle

Well, here's the next chapter! I would like to thank everyone who read and reviewed the first one. You guys rock!

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"Hey, Hinata, see anything?" 

The members of Team 8 were standing in the middle of the forest surrounding Konoha, the retired ninja they had been assigned to protect standing between the three. Even now, when he no longer did the work of a shinobi, they could still feel the immense amount of chakra emanating from his body. Their job was to get the man safely back to his home, though each of them felt that he needed no protection.

It had been Kiba who had spoken. Once they were a good distance away from the village, Hinata had activated her Bloodline Ability, the Byakugan, to scan the surrounding area. This gave her the ability to see through solid objects, among other things; if anyone was in the immediate area, she would find them.

After taking a good look around, she deactivated the Byakugan. "No, there's no one nearby," she said. "At least not that I can see." Akamaru sniffed to make sure, and, sure enough, there were no strange scents or anything indicating that they were being followed or spied upon.

The man, whose name was Michio, took no interest in the conversation of the three genins. He actually appeared quite bored, and was doing the exciting task of cleaning the wax out of his ears with his pinky. Every now and then he would glance at them, particularly Hinata, but otherwise he appeared to have no interest in anything except the fascinating contents of his ear.

"This mission's a piece of cake!" Kiba said, putting his hands behind his head in a relaxed gesture. Akamaru, who now rested inside his mater's shirt, barked in agreement. Shino, however, shook his head. The two were way too relaxed; just because there weren't any enemies here didn't mean the same for the areas up ahead. When he expressed his concerns to his teammates, however, Kiba just laughed.

"You worry too much, Shino!" He lowered his voice. "You've sensed this guy's chakra. Anyone who wanted to mess with him must be out of their mind!" This was the truth; even Akamaru had whimpered slightly when they had first met the strange ninja.

"I-I agree with Shino," Hinata said, causing both her teammates to look at her. "Even if he is strong, that just means he had a lot of enemies when he was a shinobi, right?" Although neither said anything, it was obvious that they were thinking about her words. After all, most people, shinobi or not, liked to have strong opponents, and this guy was definitely strong. After a moment, Kiba sighed. "Whatever. As long as we keep our eyes peeled, we'll be fine, right? Let's go, Michio!" And, with that, he walked away.

Michio, however, didn't like being treated without the proper respect. Even the Hokage had at least addressed him as 'Michio-san', and he felt that these brats, as he had decided to call them, should do the same. He shuffled along angrily behind them, trying to calm down. _Don't let these brats get to you. After all, you've been blessed enough to have the Byakugan delivered right to you. _He smiled quietly to himself, going over his plan in his mind.

They walked for quite awhile, and soon they were nearing the newly completed bridge that led to the Country of Waves. "We're almost there, Michio-sama," Hinata said, the old shinobi silently pleased that he was getting at least some respect. By now, the three genins were quite used to their peaceful surroundings; Hinata had stopped using her Byakugan long ago, and even Akamaru had stopped sniffing the air for signs of anything suspicious. Yes, they were quite content, and soon they had seemed to forget that they were even on a mission and were just on a nice, quiet walk.

Big mistake. Just as they were almost at the bridge, five ninjas jumped out of the trees and instantly surrounded them. The forehead protectors, which they all had tied around their right arms, showed that they were all ninjas from the Village Hidden in the Mist. The three genins quickly took a formed a defensive circle around Michio; they were outnumbered, but that had never stopped them before. The other ninjas, however, had formed a circle around them as well.

"Well, I thought this mission was a little too easy," Kiba said, taking out some food pills from his pocket. He gave one to Akamaru, whose fur instantly turned red. He then quickly did a series of hand seals. "Jyuujin Bunshin!" Akamaru transformed into Kiba, and they gave each other a quick look before executing their next move. "Gatsuuga!" The two began swirl, creating two giant tornado-like cyclones. They sped towards two of the five enemy ninjas that were standing close together; a cloud of dust rose as they hit the target. When the debris cleared, however, only two logs were in the place of the two ninjas.

"Damn it! Substitutions!" Kiba said, frustratingly looking around. Shino had used his bugs to try to attack the remaining three only to find that they were substations as well. Hinata, who had remained in front of Michio, used her Byakugan to find the real shinobi. "There!" she said, pointing into a nearby cluster of trees. As if on cue, three ninjas jumped down from the trees: two men and one woman.

"Hmp. We were expecting at least a jounin to be protecting the old man, and what do we find? Three pathetic little genin," One of them said, giving a slight laugh. "You'll hand him over if you know what's good for you."

Kiba smirked. "Thanks for the advice, but we won't be giving him to you anytime soon." He turned to his teammates. "Right?" They both nodded, getting into their own fighting stances. The enemy shinobi just laughed.

"Well, we're just going to have to take him by force." The three spread out in different directions, each one targeting a different genin. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino also spread out to get their fights away from Michio.

Kiba and Akamaru used their Gatsuuga once again on their opponent, only to hit the ground, stirring up even more dirt. "Such petty techniques won't work on me," said a voice from behind them. Kiba turned, just in time to see the ninja swiftly pull out a kunai and cut his arm. He pulled back, clutching his arm. "Damn it. Gijyuu Ninpou Shikyaku no Jutsu!" Quickly recovering from the attack, he used another technique to counter his opponent's. He and Akamaru both used the technique, only to be met by a swarm of shurikans. They both easily dodged it, only to find more buried in the shadow of the first ones. Both of them got hit in several places, causing Akamaru to change back and Kiba to be bleeding from more wounds.

Shino was having similar difficulties with his opponent. He sent out countless bugs, attempting to drain his chakra, but not one of them seemed able to match the enemy's speed. In a flash, the shinobi was standing only a few feet away from Shino. He threw several shurikans, each one embedding itself in Shino's body. Instead of blood, however, only bugs came out of the wounds; he had made a replication out of bugs to fool the enemy. The ninja seemed unimpressed, however, and only sent more shurikans at the real Shino, who was approaching from behind. He wasn't expecting the attack, and got hit on his legs and across his stomach. _These are at least jounin level ninja,_ he thought as he held his stomach wound.

With her Byakugan, Hinata had little difficulty in dodging attacks from weapons like kunai and shurikan. She easily avoided such attacks; as well as being able to see through objects, the Byakugan also allowed her to see almost 360 degrees around. When her opponent, the only woman besides Hinata, noticed this, she decided to try a different tactic. She swiftly did a series of hand seals; Hinata didn't notice fast enough, and was soon trapped within a genjutsu.

She looked around, and noticed that she was standing in the middle of a river. The swift moving water, as well as her surroundings, was surprisingly gray; no other color seemed to be present. On the banks of the river were large trees, blowing in a light breeze and shedding gray leaves. At the roots of some of the trees were whitish-gray flowers, swaying softly in the wind. The world seemed pretty peaceful, except for one thing.

There were no other signs of life.

Even with her Byakugan, all Hinata could see were endless trees and other various plants; yes, the plants _were _living things, but there were no other humans. Not even any animals could be seen in the never-ending forest of trees. Hinata stood, the gushing waters swirling around her feet, and for the first time she wondered where she was.

Then, before she could react, she was underneath the water, sinking slowly into the depths. She tried to swim, but realized that she couldn't move. She struggled against the raging waters as they continued to pull her down into the darkness that was the bottom of the river. She glanced desperately around, but saw only gray. She couldn't breathe; she could feel herself slowly losing consciousness…

That was when her opponent stuck. She threw a kunai at the trembling girl; it hit its target and sent the helpless Hinata flying backwards, snapping her out of the genjutsu. Before she realized what was happening, she saw four more kunai coming at her. She couldn't move, as she was lying on her back soaring through the air, and could only watch and wait.

Suddenly, a wall of sand appeared in front of her view; she could hear the knives hit the wall and clatter harmlessly on the ground. She was also aware that she was no longer flying in the air nor falling towards the ground, and when she looked down, she saw that she was lying on a blanket of yet more sand. It brought her gently to the ground, giving her time to catch her breath and realize that what she had experienced had only been an illusion.

When she was safely on the ground, she sat up and looked for her savior. She gave a startled cry when she saw that it was the same boy she had bumped into earlier that day.

Gaara of the Sand.

Another look around showed that the other two that had been with him were with her teammates: Temari stood with a giant fan outstretched in one hand in front of Shino, while Kankuro stood slightly behind Kiba, a puppet in front of them. Both Kiba and Shino seemed badly hurt; they were each bleeding in several places. None of the wounds appeared to be severe, though, for they were both still conscious and, in Kiba's case, looking particularly pissed at having his battle interrupted.

"Are you alright?"

She looked up and saw Gaara standing over her, looking down with an emotionless look on his face. Hinata only nodded and started to get up off the sand, only to stop midway. Her face twisted in pain as her hand went to clutch a wound in her chest; the one made from the kunai thrown at her while she was still trapped in the genjutsu.

Gaara moved away from her. "I'll take care of this," he said, his voice as void of emotion as his face. The other ninja, however, had no more intentions of fighting; they each, in turn, threw down a smoke bomb, and soon the whole area was covered in smoke so thick that none of them could see.

When it cleared, they immediately noticed that something was wrong. Not only were the ninja gone, but others as well.

Both Michio and Hinata were missing.

* * *

**Footnotes:**

Jyuujin Bunshin-Half-Beast Clone; used to turn Akamaru into a replication of Kiba.

Gatsuuga-Double Fang Destroyer

Gijyuu Ninpou Shikyaku no Jutsu- Beast Mimicry Ninja Technique, Four Legs

Genjutsu: Illusionary techniques

**Author's notes:**

If you noticed, there were several references to the actual anime in this chapter. In the earlier episodes, Naruto's team was sent on a mission to protect a bride builder while he was on his way home to the Country of Waves, like how Hinata's team is now protecting Michio (who is a made-up character, no reference to anyone in the series). On the way, they met up with a rouge ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist. Sound familiar? The shinobi whom they were fighting in this chapter were also from the Hidden Mist Village. The bridge they encountered was the one that the bride builder had completed at the end of the mission. Really, this whole paragraph was probably pointless, but I just wanted to see if anyone noticed.

* * *

This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I expected. It's by far the longest chapter I've written for any of my stories.It was pretty fun to write though; it's my first real experience with writing fighting scenes, so I hope they were ok. I wasn't sure whether or not to put the translations for Kiba's attacks, but then again, if you're like me, then you probably don't remember the exact names of them unless you just recently saw the episode(s) in which they were used. But, by now, I'm sure you're tired of my useless babbling, so as always, please review so I know what you think! -yawn- I really need to stop putting these chapters out so late at night… 


	3. Truth

Wow, considering this is only the third chapter, I've gotten a pretty good amount of reviews! I'm glad you guys like it! I'll try my best to make this a good story, and update as soon as I can!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. If I did, I'd have Gaara carry around a big, soft teddy bear with him. Just for the hell of it.

* * *

It took the five ninjas a few moments to realize what had happened. One minute Hinata and Michio were there, and the next, they weren't. It finally dawned on them that, for whatever reason, the ninjas that had attacked them must have taken their teammate with them.

"Damn it!" Kiba yelled, pounding his fist into the ground. "Those bastards were after the old guy! Why'd they take Hinata with them, too?" He was about to bring his fist down to the ground again when it was caught in midair. He looked up to see Shino towering above him.

"Calm down," he said firmly. "That isn't helping things. We need to start looking for Hinata. She can take care of herself until we get there." That was Shino for you. Always calm and sensible, even in the most desperate situations.

"Well, this mission sure is annoying," Temari said. She and the other sand ninjas had been putting their weapons away while they had listened to the other genins conversation: Temari put her giant fan back at her side, Kankuro gathered up his puppet and placed it on his back, and Gaara's sand was slowly going back in his gourd. When she spoke, both Shino and Kiba turned to look at her, surprised that she had any input in the situation at all.

"Why are you three even here?" Kiba asked. "It was weird enough that you helped out last time, but now you're here again?" _Not to mention the fact that we had to be saved again, _he added silently.

"Well, if you Konoha shinobi weren's so weak, you wouldn't need our help," Kankuro said, fully aware that it had been him who had saved Kiba when they last met and had now done it again. He would have given Kiba a hard time about it, had their teammate not suddenly disappeared. No, he figured now was not the time.

Temari continued where she had left off. "This whole mission is weird," she said. Kiba and Shino just looked at her as if to say, _what the hell are you talking about? _She ignored them. "Think about it. We got all the information on that Michio guy from the Hokage. He was supposed to be this famous ninja, right? We've all sensed his enormous amount of chakra. So, if he's so great and powerful, why did he just sit back and let three genins take on shinobi that were at least jounin level?" She stopped to let her words sink in.

Both Shino and Kiba realized where she was going at the same time. "You mean…they were after Hinata from the start?" Kiba asked, feeling sick at the thought that they didn't realize it earlier.

Temari nodded. "That's the thing with those with Bloodline Limits. They're always being targeted for one reason or another." She sighed. "I have to wonder if Tsunade-sama knew about it, and that's why she sent us. In any case, you'd better start searching for your friend."

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Hinata awoke to unfamiliar surroundings and a very bad headache.

She sat up on a crude bed, the mattress covered in dark spots that, had her head not been so fuzzy, she would have realized were blood. She looked around her and saw that she was in a bare room; the only furniture was the bed that she had been sleeping on. At the sudden movement, a wave of pain surged through her head, and she clutched it instinctively.

_Where am I? _She wondered. She remembered fighting those strange ninjas and Gaara showing up. Then there were those weird smoke bombs. She couldn't see anything and was struck hard on the back of the head. Then…nothing. She realized that she was holding her head in the same place that she had been hit, and knew where the sudden pain had come from. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that someone else had crept into the room.

"So, you're awake," said a voice. It sounded familiar. Hinata turned, and saw Michio standing in the doorway. Her face relaxed somewhat at the familiar face of the man, even if she hardly knew him.

"Michio-san, where are we?" she asked. She tried to get up from the bed, but couldn't; she looked down and saw that her legs were chained to the wall next to her. She shot a questioning look at the other shinobi, who only grinned at her confused look.

"Ah, how dimwitted you Konoha shinobi are," he said, ignoring Hinata's question. "You see, those ninjas weren't actually after me. They were working for me, in fact. They're pretty good actors, no?" He chuckled, and his grin grew wider as Hinata's confusion grew. "You see, my dear, I was after you all along."

"M-me?" Hinata stuttered, the realization of what was going on finally dawning on her. That was why he hadn't lifted a finger to help when they were in the midst of battle.

"That's right, my dear girl." Michio stepped further into the room, causing Hinata to flinch backwards instinctively. "When I arrived at the village of Konoha and requested an escort home, I had no idea that I would actually get the Byakugan delivered right to me." His smile only continued to grow. "There are so many different Bloodline Limits in the Konoha; I figured that the odds were in my favor that I would get someone who has one. You just happened to be the lucky kid. Although, I guess technically the bug-user has some kind of Kekkei Genkai, but his would be hard to copy, I'm afraid." He chuckled again. Hinata was really beginning to hate that laugh.

She was also still confused. If he wanted the secrets of her Byakugan, why didn't he just kill her? After all, what good did it do him is she was alive? However, she was determined not to show her confusion – or her fear – so she tried to look strong. Her face only ended up with a strange twisted look on it, though, making her captor only laugh again.

"I-If you want the secrets of the Byakugan so bad, then why didn't you just k-kill me?" Hinata asked, cringing as she stuttered. So much for not showing her fear. Michio only gave her an amused look at her question, as if the answer was obvious.

"My dear, you don't seem to understand." He walked towards her until he was standing right in front of her. "It wouldn't do me much good to have you dead. You see, I do want to copy your ability. But there are other things I can do with you first." He reached out a hand and put it under her chin, raising her head until their eyes met. "After all, you're the heir of the Hyuuga family."

----------

So far, their search had come up empty.

Akamaru tried to sniff her out only to find that her scent had disappeared. Shino had sent out a number of bugs to search the area, but none had come back. Even Temari had tried to help, using her fan to fly into the air and look from above, but didn't see anything suspicious. Kankuro and Gaara had just stood there, since their abilities couldn't really help in this situation.

"Damn it, now what?" Kiba said, frustrated at their lack of results. "It's like she suddenly disappeared!" Even Shino's usual calm composure was starting to break as he began to get upset about the vanishing of their teammate. Temari was worred, too, but for a different reason. When she looked at Gaara, she saw a look of anger; it was barely visible upon his face, and most would have overlooked it, had he been prone to showing emotion. Gaara, however, hardly ever showed even the slightest bit of emotion; the word was all but foreign to him. Yes, the look on his face worried and almost scared his sister.

Shino's head suddenly jerked up as he looked to the sky, having sensed the return of one of his 'friends' that he had sent out. He held out his hand, and small creature landed on his palm, looking very worn out. One of its wings was broken, and it looked as if he barely had the strength to stand, let alone fly. After a moment, the fragile creature died in Shino's hand, but not before he found out some valuable information.

"I know where Hinata is," he started, getting everyone's attention. "She's in some kind of small hut that's hidden by a waterfall. That's why Temari didn't see it earlier. The only problem is that there's some kind of weird barrier around it." That explained why the only bug to come back had been injured so badly.

"So what do we do?" Kiba asked. "Can we get past the barrier?"

Shino shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "We'll head to the hut and plan from there." The other four ninjas nodded, and they began the journey save Hinata.

* * *

Ok, not a very exciting chapter, I know, but to tell you the truth, I'm still trying to figure out some things and can't write the next chapter till I figure those things out. I'll get the next one out as soon as I can, though! Thanks for reading! 


	4. Fear

Well, here's chapter four! Sorry it took so long. I had school stuff to do, not to mention that my computer wouldn't let me on the internet for a couple of days. Just be glad I didn't throw it out the window. Right, Gaara?

Gaara: Hn.

What's wrong with you?

Gaara: I was barely in the last chapter. This _is _a story about me, you know.

You're in this chapter a lot, so quit complaining.

Gaara: -glares-

Meep! Erm, anyway, enjoy the story! Oh, and please let me know if the rating should go up after this chapter. You'll see why when you read it. –runs-

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would kill whoever chose the voice actors for the English version.

**Warning: **Sexual intent/content ahead.

* * *

"_There are other things I can do with you first."_

There were many ways you could interpret those words. Hinata had replayed them over and over in her head, and none of the outcomes she thought of were good. Hell, the best outcome she could think of was where she was used as bait for something from the village. As a ninja, she knew that she should think of that as the _worst _possibility, but the others she thought of were more directed at her as an individual, and those sounded a whole lot worse to her.

To put it simply, Hinata was scared. She had never been a situation like this before, and she didn't know what to do. She tried numerous techniques on the chain that bound her to the wall, but it was made of some ninja-proof metal, or so it seemed, and wouldn't break. That must have been why he had left her alone; he knew she wouldn't be able to escape.

She had been very tempted to swat his hand away when he placed it under her chin, lifting it up so their eyes met. Had it not been for her naturally timid nature, she probably would have done so. Instead, she tried her best to erase all signs of fear from her face, and stared him straight in the eye. In spite of her efforts, however, all he did was laugh. She really hated that laugh. And then he left, saying something about how he had to "get ready".

And so, she was left alone to contemplate the meaning of his words. No matter how she looked at it, there was probably at least some sexual intent behind them. Not that she had much experience in that field, but it really was quite obvious. The way he smiled that creepy smile of his when he said it…she shook her head furiously. _No, _she told herself. _I can't be thinking about that. I have to focus on getting out of here._ She began to think of something she could do to escape when she froze.

She heard footsteps coming towards the room.

----------

Gaara was angry.

To be more specific, he was very pissed off. Even he himself didn't understand why. He did, however, know that his anger was directed at that guy, Michio. Gaara had no doubt that he would be dead very soon, by his own hands. He was already plotting ways to kill him with his sand. Maybe he should crush him, or bury him under hundreds of feet of sand like he did with that Kimimaro guy…

He felt someone was staring at him, and picked his gaze up from the ground he had been intently studying. Temari was looking at him with a mixed look of fear and concern on her face. Gaara realized that he probably looked even angrier than he usually did, and instantly put his expressionless look back on his face.

It wasn't like him to feel such strange emotions. He thought that he had long ago hidden all his feelings away deep inside him, left with only the desire to kill. Yes, some of that desire had disappeared after his fight with that strange blond kid, but he was still as emotionless as ever. Or at least, he thought so. He admitted that he felt something similar to tolerance of his siblings now, whereas before he had never even acknowledged them as anything more than people that were in his way. But surely he hadn't changed other than that?

He was beginning to have his doubts. He felt his anger bubbling inside him, a kind of anger different than what he felt when he was fighting Naruto. Then, it had been directed at the young boy he was fighting, anger that he felt when he felt that he was going to lose his reason for existing. After all, he believed that he only existed to kill, and that that existence was proved only by killing by his opponent. When, for the first time, he felt that he might lose, he also felt that he would lose his right to live, and had been angry at the boy for taking that away from him.

No, this was a different kind of anger. This time, he didn't seem to have any reason to be upset. It hadn't been him who had been taken; it was just some girl that he had only just met. It didn't have anything to do with him. Yet he felt like it did. When he thought that the girl could be hurt, or possibly even dead, he felt this strange anger rising in his chest. Why did he feel this way? He had never cared if someone had died before, especially someone he hardly knew. Why now?

So many questions and not enough answers. As he jumped through the trees with his fellow ninja (for what else was he to call them? They were certainly not his comrades), he searched for the answers that he knew would never come. Not until he met face-to-face with the girl. _What was her name?_ He asked himself yet another question. He had never had any reason to remember a name before, so it took a moment to for it to enter his mind. _Hyuuga Hinata._ He savored the name, thinking how it seemed to fit the shy girl. The thought was alien to him. How could he, Gaara of the Sand, possibly be thinking about a girl's name, and, even more absurd, how the name related to the actual human being to whom it belonged?

He then realized that he _had_ changed. The feelings he felt in his chest were as alien to him as his thoughts, and he knew that the old him would never have felt that way. Whoever that girl was, she had changed him in even more ways than the blond boy she admired. He remembered Naruto cheering her on at the Chuunin Exam, and how she refused to give up just for him. It was quite obvious when he looked back at it: the way she grew confident at his cheers, the look in her eyes when he told her she could change herself. She had almost lost her life in that battle, and probably would have if the various Jounin hadn't intervened. And she did so just to prove to the boy that she had the courage to fight. He realized that he admired that courage, the courage to do anything for the person you truly cared about.

Wait. What was he thinking? The person you cared about? Since when did he care about anything other than himself? He immediately dismissed his previous thought, and all other thoughts for that matter. For as he had been thinking, they had arrived at the waterfall, which shielded the hut that held Hinata.

----------

Michio entered the room, and the first thing Hinata noticed was his lack of clothing. He wore no shirt, and had only a pair of boxers covering his legs. His old face didn't match his body, for it was still young and in shape. She instinctively shrunk towards the wall, her back pressed firmly against it. Her fears had been realized: he had indeed meant his words in a sexual way.

"Now, my dear, don't do that," he said, seeing her inching away from him. "I'm doing you a favor. I'm giving you the opportunity to have some fun. You were right; I do need to kill you in order to get the secrets of the Byakugan, so I'm doing you a favor before I kill you." He began to walk towards her, causing her to flinch in fear.

"S-stay away!" Hinata cried, her eyes filling with tears. "Please no…" It was whispered so quietly that only she could hear; however, he was standing in front of her now, and indeed heard her, the words making him chuckle. He once again lifted her chin up, this time placing his face closer to hers. His breath smelled of smoke and alcohol, which could explain the strange difference of aging of his body and face.

"What's wrong, Princess?" he said, hiccupping. It was clear that he was drunk, though that hardly accounted for his actions. She was sure things wouldn't have been much different even if he hadn't been intoxicated with alcohol. "You're not -hic- scared, are you?" His nose was only inches away from hers now, and she couldn't help it: she slapped him.

He took a step back, clearly surprised at her sudden assertiveness. Her actions, however, only made his smile grow, and he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, if that's how you're going to be, then I'll just have to -hic- make you have fun, won't I?" He stepped forward again, placing one knee on the bed, and, reaching out towards her, unzipped her tan jacket. He then slipped it off of her, though she made it quite difficult by lashing out with both her arms and legs.

She now sat on the bed wearing only her dark, bluish-black shirt and pants, her jacket lying beside her. Or rather, she was lying on the bed, since he had forced himself on top of her. She was very afraid now, and was kicking her legs every which way to try and get him off her. However, he was so drunk that even when her flailing legs hit him he barely flinched. He then moved his hands down, and she knew that he made to take her pants off. _Oh, God, _she thought. _Please, someone help me! Anyone! Kiba, Shino, please come! Gaara…_She was desperate at this point, to the fact that she was calling silently to someone she had only met by accidentally bumping into him.

Michio was so busy (and so drunk) that he hadn't noticed the sand that had been silently creeping into the house until it was too late. Before he could do any more damage to the frightened genin, he was covered in the brown substance and thrown across the room into the opposite wall. It was only then that they noticed the ninja from the Village Hidden in the Sand standing in the doorway.

Gaara.

* * *

**Bonus**: Michio's profile

Age: 41 (too young to be retired, I know)

Height: 172cm (5ft 8in)

Hair: Brown with grey spots here and there

Eyes: Brown

Comments: My first OC. Not bad out of 6 stories, huh? I never actually intended for him to be more than a random character that Team 8 had to escort him. But, before I knew it, he had turned into a huge character. I actually used him in a short story I had to write for English. Once again, he was the bad guy. Sorry, Michio! Is it weird for me to feel bad for a character I made up? I wonder…

* * *

Ok, this chapter kinda got out of control, huh? I never intended for this to turn out this way. But, after looking back at the last chapter (and getting a review commenting about how he was going to rape her), I realized that I had totally set him up for that. -shudders- So, I kinda had to put that in there. I apologize that it's poorly written, but I haven't written anything like that before (and didn't think I ever would…). On a more positive note, I liked writing about Gaara. I thought it would be nice to see his sensitive side. Go kick his ass, Gaara! Hehe. Anyway, once again, please tell me if I should change the rating. I'm really not good with that sort of thing. I wonder how many viewers I'll lose after this chapter? Heh. Well, as always, please review and give any constructive criticism. Especially for this chapter, since this is way different than anything I've ever written before. Arigatou! 


	5. Rescue

Hello, everyone, and welcome to chapter five! I know Gaara is happy, since he was in the last one a lot. Right, Gaara?

Gaara: Hn.

Is that all you ever say? And I've even making a music video about you, too! It's my first one, so when it's done, I hope you'll all watch it! I'll post the link on my profile when it's finished. Now, on to the story!

**Disclaimer: **I do not Naruto. If I did, then I would kill all these damn filler episodes.

* * *

Hinata sat up on the bed, tears streaming down her face. Her shirt was falling down on one side, exposing a little more of her right breast than she would have liked. She quickly pulled it up, blushing slightly and adding to her already crimson face. She turned and looked towards the door, seeing sand covering most of the room and her captor lying against the wall. And the person she least expected to see stood in the doorway. 

Gaara slowly walked into the room, his eyes piercing through Michio like daggers. If looks could kill, then he would definitely be dead by now. As it was, he only stumbled to his feet, swaying slightly as the alcohol he had consumed earlier began to take effect on his body. He grinned. "Now, why did you have to go and ruin my fun? That's not very nice."

Gaara only narrowed his eyes. "Oh, really? It didn't seem like much fun for her." He stepped further into the room, his eyes searching the room and landing on Hinata. She looked like she had just been to Hell and back. Her clothes were torn in places, her eyes were wide with fear, and her ankle was bleeding from where it was chained to the wall. Most likely it had dug into her skin as she was struggling against the psychotic ninja. Seeing the girl hurt and terrified, Gaara unconsciously clenched his fist and reverted his gaze back to Michio.

"You lowlife," he said, sand swirling around him. "I'll kill you!" With Gaara, that definitely was not an empty threat. When he said he would kill you, you were as good as dead. So as the sand was sent straight at Michio, the once-famous shinobi knew right away that he was in trouble. The sand swirled violently around him, encasing him in a deadly cocoon. "Sabaku Kyuu!" Gaara held out his hand and clenched it into a fist, causing the sand around Michio to contract.This was soon followed by"Sabaku Soso," which caused the sand to collapse in altogether, blood spurting out from the gaps in the sand. The sand then retreated back into the gourd on Gaara's back, leaving only the ninja's battered body behind.

It was then that Kiba and Shino burst into the room. When they had reached the waterfall, they were contemplating how to get past the barrier when Gaara had just gone ahead, somehow going right through without any trouble. Though the remaining members of Team 7 had been completely stumped at how he had done it, his siblings figured it must have had something to do with the monster inside of him. And so they were left to figure out a different way to enter the barrier while entrusting everything to Gaara in the meantime. Eventually they found that it had just been a simple genjutsu and had dispelled it. Temari and Kankuro had stayed behind in case Michio's accomplices showed up, while Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru went to check on things.

They arrived to see a very strange sight. Blood was strewn all over the floor, Michio's body in the middle of it. Yes, he may have been a talented shinobi at some point in his life, but he was no match for Gaara's rage. Opposite them sat Hinata, her leg covered in blood from the wound on her ankle, which stubbornly refused to stop bleeding. And amongst it all stood Gaara, the sand flowing steadily back into its container while he walked across the room to the captive girl.

"Hinata!" Kiba cried, running into the room. Shino followed behind him, but both were stopped in their tracks when Gaara glared at them. Even Akamaru was scared, and hid in the comfort of Kiba's shirt. When this sand shinobi was mad, it was definitely best not to mess with him. Why he seemed mad at _them _was beyond anyone's comprehension, including Gaara's, but his emotions were so messed up lately that being angry at random people didn't seem all that strange at this point.

Gaara walked over to the bed and stood staring at the frightened shinobi for a few seconds before doing anything. He shifted his gaze to the chain connecting her and the wall, and had soon covered it in sand. He once again used his "Sabaku Soso" on the strange metal, shattering it into dozens of tiny pieces. There was probably a better way to break it, one that didn't involved using unnecessary chakra, but it was a quick and easy method of chain breaking that didn't involve much thinking, which had never been one of Gaara's strong points anyway.

Hinata's hand instinctively shot to her wound. Her face still glistened with tears, though no new ones fell from her eyes. She silently scolded herself for being so weak. All this had happened because of her, because she wasn't strong enough to defend herself, not only from Michio's sexual advances towards her, but also from being kidnapped in the first place. And on top of it all, she had to be saved by someone that she barely knew, and most likely just thought this whole thing was a waste of his time and was also thinking about how weak the girl in front of him was. She couldn't even bring herself to look at him, let alone say anything.

Gaara glanced over at Kiba and Shino, who hadn't moved since receiving his death glare. "You," he said, motioning with a swift nod of his head to Kiba, "come here and dress her wound." Gaara, having only been wounded a few select times in his life, had no experience in the art of dressing wounds. Heck, he hardly knew what wounds _looked _like. What did you wrap it with? How did you tie it? These things were all but foreign to him.

Upon seeing Gaara's impatient gesture at towards him, Kiba hurriedly ran over to the bedside, tearing a strip of cloth from his shirt to use as a bandage. He began hastily wrapping it around Hinata's injured ankle, noticing how deep the wound was. It was then that he began to wonder exactly what had happened. He was already considering the worst, and nearly fell over from embarrassment when a certain option entered his mind. It was then that the shy girl spoke for the first time since her rescuer had entered the room.

"I'm sorry, Kiba-kun," she whispered. She turned to the stiff ninja that stood beside her. "You too, Gaara-kun." Kiba looked up from what he was doing, staring at her. "What the hell are you apologizing for?" Gaara was also confused, though he would most likely die before he showed it.

"I-I always cause everyone trouble," Hinata continued. "A-and I always slow everyone down. It's my fault that all this happened, and t-that you all had to come rescue me." More tears began to form in her eyes, even though she tried not to let them show. Crying would only prove that she was weak. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, shut up," Gaara said, surprising everyone. Those were the first words he had spoken since he had killed Michio (not including his silent threat to Kiba and Shino). "Stop apologizing. It's weird." Never before had someone apologized to him; they were always too busy running away in fear. Before, he had lived his life as either a tool or a monster, whichever seemed to fit the needs of the village at the time. He had been targeted for assassination numerous times, and it had never crossed his mind that someone would actually apologize to him for something.

It was then that Hinata fully looked at her rescuer for the first time. Their eyes met, and for the first time since she had seen him fighting during the Chuunin Exam, they weren't full of hatred. Instead, they were full of confusion; she didn't need her Byakugan to see it. For the first time since she was captured, she smiled. "Thank you, Gaara-kun, for saving me."

Gaara stared at her. As if apologizing wasn't enough, now she was _thanking _him! He had no idea what he should do or say. He didn't even know why he was doing all this for her! _This girl…what is she doing to me?_ He didn't understand. The emotions running through him…he wasn't used to any of them. His hand instinctively went to the tattoo on his forehead. _Love. _His eyes widened as the word went through his mind. Love, kindness, compassion…None of these feelings had ever had any meaning to him.

_I love only myself._

Yes, it had been him who had said that. Never before had he had any reason to think otherwise.

Until now.

* * *

**Footnotes:**

Sabaku Kyuu – Desert Coffin

Sabaku Soso– Desert Funeral

* * *

Ok, so that wasn't as long as I'd hoped it would be, but it seemed like a good place to leave off. Nothing too exciting happened, I know, but the next chapter will be better. I promise. Now go and press that pretty blue button at the bottom of the screen. You know you want to. 


	6. Return

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would give Kiba a cat for Christmas.

* * *

Hinata tentatively picked up her jacket and put it back on. An uncomfortable silence had fallen over the room after she had thanked her savior, mostly because Gaara had no idea what to say and Hinata didn't want to say anything for fear of upsetting him in some way. Kiba and Shino were just afraid to speak altogether, mostly because of the murderous intent behind the glare they had received earlier. Needless to say, it was very quiet in the room, the only sound coming from the roaring waterfall outside. 

It was Kiba who broke the silence. "So, Hinata, what exactly did that creep do to you?" he asked, looking at Gaara out of the corner of his eye for any signs that the Sand shinobi was upset with his attempt at conversation. He saw none, however, and turned back to his teammate.

Hinata's face turned bright red at Kiba's question. Now that it was over, and she had time to think about it, she realized what had happened. Michio had tried to _rape _her. Not only tried, but almost succeeded. The very thought of it made her both embarrassed and ashamed, and she looked away from Kiba's questioning gaze. The other genin quickly got the message and backed off.

"Well, we can't exactly just leave the other two out there forever," he said, changing the subject. He was referring to Temari and Kankuro, whom they had left outside incase any unwelcome shinobi happened to come for a visit, mainly the perverted old ninja's friends. Kiba stood from where he kneeled on the floor and began to walk over to Shino, who was still standing in the middle of the room, having been in the exact same position since receiving Gaara's death glare. Not that he was _afraid_, exactly; he just didn't really want to take his chances.

Hinata nodded, though no one was paying attention to her at that precise moment, seeing as how Gaara had followed Kiba and was heading towards the door. She tried to stand, but winced as pain shot through her leg from her wounded ankle. The other three shinobi all turned when she made a small squeaking noise, followed by her sitting back down on the bed.

"Hinata, are you alright?" Kiba asked. Well, that was a stupid question. She had been kidnapped, sexual assaulted, and now couldn't even stand properly. Oh yes, she was just perfectly fine. He looked down to where blood was seeping through her bandage. The damn thing just refused to stop bleeding. "Do you need me to carry you?"

"Oh, no!" Hinata said, shaking her head. "I've caused you so much trouble already. I'll be fine, really!" She tried to prove her point by standing up, but this time only fell to the floor. Obviously, she was _not _'fine' by any means.

Gaara, being the closest one to her at the time, walked over and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, lifting into the air. "Idiot," he muttered, adjusting his gourd and flinging the startled kunoichi over his shoulder. He then resumed his journey out of the hut, while Kiba and Shino just stared at him.

"Ehhh?" Hinata cried, her face turning a bright red. "G-Gaara-kun, w-what are you-?"

"Shut up," Gaara said, for the second time that day. _If she wasn't so damn stubborn…_Gaara didn't even bother to finish the thought, mostly because he wasn't sure himself why he was holding the small girl in the first place. But then again, he didn't really understand anything anymore, so what was one more thing to be confused by?

He had reached the doorway only to find that Hinata's teammates had yet to move. Their eyes were glued to Hinata, who, since she had been flung over so that she was facing the opposite direction as the Sand shinobi, only shrugged helplessly. She was even more confused than they were. After a quick glare from Gaara, however, they immediately began following the odd pair, making sure to keep a safe distance behind them.

Moments later, they exited the hut and made their way around the waterfall that hid the cavern where it stood. On the other side, Temari and Kankuro were waiting for them, three shinobi lying on the ground around them: Michio's allies. The two Sand shinobi turned when they heard footsteps. "Hey, Gaara! What happ-?" Temari stopped mid-sentence when she saw her brother. He was _carrying_ the girl that had been captured! Ok, so he didn't exactly know how to carry her without practically trapping her in a headlock, but the fact still remained that he held her. Weirder still, the girl didn't seem to be _complaining _about it! Temari shot a confused look at her brother, who only returned it.

"Um, Gaara? What are you doing?" Temari asked when he had reached them, getting straight to the point. Gaara grunted. "She was being an idiot and wouldn't let her teammate carry her, so I did it instead." He seemed slightly annoyed with the fact that her feet were dangling in his face, even though it was his fault for throwing her over his shoulder in such a strange position. He turned his head around so that, when Hinata looked up, they would see each other. "Can you walk now?" One advantage of having the girl's feet directly in front of his face was that he could see that her ankle had stopped bleeding.

"Oh, y-yes!" Hinata stammered as she was not-so-gently dropped to the ground. Indeed, her ankle felt much better now. Gaara then began to walk away, going past Temari and Kankuro without a word. The two siblings exchanged glances before following, leaving the members of Team 8 alone.

Kiba sighed. "Damn, that Gaara is one strange guy," he said, petting Akamaru, who was still in his shirt. The small dog barked in agreement. Beside them, Shino nodded.

"H-he's not that bad," Hinata said, causing both of her teammates to stare at her. "I-I mean, he did save me…" her voice trailed off. She didn't even know _why _she was defending him. It's not like they had ever met until the mission. Yes, they had seen each other at the Chuunin Exam, but hey had never actually spoken to one another. Yet she felt strangely…_connected _to him. It was as if their meeting was more than just a simple coincidence.

Kiba scratched his head. "Well, yeah, I'll give him that much…" he muttered, for lack of anything else to say. Shino remained silent. Big surprise. He didn't talk much, anyway.

"Hey, hurry up!" Temari called. The three Sand shinobi were waiting atop a nearby hill. "Come on, we're heading back to the village! We're going to leave you behind!" The three genin exchanged quick glances before following, and the six made their way back to Konoha. The mission was officially over. Technically, it had failed. Not only had they failed to take Michio back to his home in the Village Hidden in the Mist, but they had killed him in the process. Not that they had had much of a choice, but it would still be an adventure telling Tsunade about it.

---------

"WHAT?"

The shinobi were standing in the Hokage's office, in front of a very angry Tsunade. They had told her that the old ninja was dead, but had yet to tell her _why _he was dead. Needless to say, when hearing the news, Tsunade was _not _very happy.

"But Tsunade-sama, we haven't told you _why _he's dead yet," Kiba protested. For the moment, they had left out the fact that Gaara had killed him. Without explaining why first, they were sure that random objects would be flying across the room before they could actually get to that part. "He kidnapped Hinata."

Now _that _got her attention. The numerous exploding veins on her forehead ceased their throbbing for a moment as she leaned forward in her chair. "Did you just say he _kidnapped _her?" She glanced at the Sand ninja, who nodded. Well, two of them did. Gaara just stood there, looking annoyed at everything.

They then continued to explain what had happened on their mission. When asked what had actually happened when she had been captured, however, Hinata had only turned a bright red and immediately ran out of the room, leaving four very confused genin and one confused Hokage. Gaara continued to just stand there, seeing as he was the only one who had any idea of what had happened. After all, he _had _walked in right in the middle of it. After that, they decided to stay clear of the topic of what had actually happened before they had arrived, and continued to tell the rest of the story.

----------

Hinata sat in the cool shade of a large oak tree. After leaving the Hokage's office, she hadn't stopped running until she was completely out of breath and had then proceeded to a nearby park; she and her teammates had often trained there, and she liked to go there sometimes and just relax in the shade. This time, however, she wasn't exactly relaxing.

When she had been asked about what had happened, she had panicked. How exactly was she supposed to talk about it? "Oh, nothing much. I was sexually assaulted by that perverted old man who wanted to rape me. What's for lunch?" No, that wouldn't go over very well. So she decided to run. Well, her legs pretty much decided for her. And so, here she was, wondering what she was supposed to do now. So far, she wasn't getting any ideas.

"So, this is where you ran off too."

Hinata looked up to see Gaara standing above her. "G-Gaara-kun?" she stammered, thoroughly surprised to see the Sand ninja there. Weirder still, he was actually talking to her, even though the mission was over and he was no longer obligated to be with her at all. She could feel a slight blush rise to her cheeks, though she wasn't really sure why. "W-what are you doing here?" she asked, silently cursing herself for stuttering.

"No reason," Gaara said, his face remaining emotionless. "We had finished telling Tsunade about the mission, and I just saw you sitting here." Hinata noticed the lack of respect he had when saying the Hokage's name, though she wasn't exactly surprised. He didn't exactly seem like the type to respect_ anyone_.

"Oh," Hinata said, looking at the ground. For some reason, she had been hoping that he had come specifically for her. She shook her head to rid the thought from her mind, resulting in a strange look from the other ninja. _You like Naruto-kun, remember? _She said silently to herself, though her heart didn't flutter nearly as much as it normally did at the thought of the blond-haired shinobi.

Gaara grunted and surprised her even more by sitting down beside her. Hinata glanced up at him, whose hair was blowing in the breeze, and saw specks of sand in it as well. She let out a soft giggle, causing Gaara to send her a questioning glare. Had anyone else laughed at him, they would be as good as dead, but for some unknown reason, he didn't feel the urge to summon his sand to strangle her, or something else of the sort.

"S-Sorry," Hinata said as she stopped laughing. "It's just…you have some sand in your hair…" She stopped when she realized that she didn't really want to tell him that it looked funny. No, she didn't think that would go over well. He really didn't seem like the type who liked to be called funny. She was silent for a moment, then said cautiously, "A-ano, I can take it out for you if you want."

Gaara stared at her. He had never been particularly _bothered _by the sand in his hair. After all, when you used large amounts of it to kill people, odds were that some of it would end up buried in your hair. However, when the small kunoichi had started laughing at it, he wondered if perhaps he should find some form of sand removal to extract it from his hair. Then came the perfect opportunity: the girl _offered _to take it out for him. "Hn," he said, nodding. There it was again. _Hn_. It seemed to be his favorite word – erm, syllable.

Hinata tentatively leaned towards him, one hand outstretched while the other pushed against the ground for support. When he didn't try to kill her, she reached out further and touched his hair. It wasn't as scratchy as she thought it would be; it was actually quite soft, considering he lived in a desert. It really wasn't much of a surprise that the roots of his hair were covered in tiny grains of sand. She was just about to pick one up and dispose of it when she heard something behind her. Both she and Gaara turned to look.

Standing at the entrance to the park were Temari, Kankuro, Shino, and Kiba. Hinata realized that they must have all been together when Gaara left, and had decided to stick together to search for the two of them. A fallen bag of souvenirs lay at Temari's feet, meaning that the sound they had heard was her dropping them.

All four of them were staring at the two shinobi in the park: Gaara sitting in the shade of the tree with Hinata leaning over him.

* * *

Ok, that wasn't as exciting as I promised it would be. -sweatdrop- I decided to add some humor to this chapter instead. Mostly with Gaara. I know he was a little OOC, but when you write a story with a pairing like this, it's kinda hard to make them _not _OOC, ya know? Anyway, as always, reviews are greatly appreciated, and they make me very happy and urge to me to write the next chapter soon. -wink- 

Ja ne!


	7. Emotion

Konnichiwa, everyone! Finally, here's chapter seven! Sorry it took so long, but, well, things happen. But hopefully the wait was worth it! This chapter will introduce the new pairing of Kiba and Temari! Why? I have no idea. It just seemed like a fun idea, and, to tell you the truth, I wasn't quite sure where to go after the last chapter. So please comment if you think the pairing is a good idea or a bad one. If you think it's bad, then I'll take it out and we'll continue from there. Sound good?

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. I do, however, own Michio, who was killed by Gaara. Rest in peace, Michio.

* * *

An awkward silence passed between the two groups of shinobi: the two under the tree, and the four that stood staring at them. Hinata was still frozen in the same position, with her arm outstretched and her hand buried in Gaara's hair. She was too shocked to even speak, let alone return to a normal sitting position. Gaara seemed pretty much unaffected by the sudden interruption and strange stares they were getting, aside from the fact that his eyes were slightly wider than before. Temari's bag of souvenirs lay on its side on the ground, its contents thrown in various directions from when it had been dropped. Basically, it was a very strange scene.

Temari was the first to speak. "Sorry, did we interrupt something?" she asked, disrupting the silence. At this, Hinata quickly pulled her hand back and clutched it tightly with the other. Her face had turned from a light pink to a bright red in a matter of seconds; the blush continued to deepen as she avoided everyone's gaze. "N-no!" she said, keeping her eyes glued to the ground. "I-it's not like that!" She glanced at Gaara for support, but he just sat there with his ever-emotionless expression. So much for that.

"Then what _were _you doing?" Kiba asked, his gaze drifting from Hinata to Gaara. He glanced down and saw that he had unconsciously squeezed his hand into a fist. Surprised, he unclenched it, staring at his hand as if it were some alien object that just happened to be attached to his body. _What am I doing?_ He wondered.

"W-we weren't d-doing anything," Hinata stuttered, briefly lifting her gaze from the ground to look at the group in front of her. Her already-present habit of saying more syllables than needed always seemed worsen under pressure. "G-Gaara-kun had some sand in his hair, and I was g-getting it out for him." She returned her eyes back to the fascinating collection of grass and leaves in front of her, her face continuing to redden.

"Oh? But you've never cared about the sand in your hair before, Gaara," Kankuro said, a grin plastered on his face. Obviously, he was enjoying the scene in front of him. His face dropped slightly, however, when his brother glared at him.

"Well, I guess no one's ever pointed it out to him before," Temari countered. Unlike her brother, she thought the two were cute together. There was no way she would say it loud, though. No, that wouldn't be smart.

Shino was the only one who hadn't said anything (besides Gaara, of course). But, unlike his companions, he wasn't staring at the couple under the trees; he was looking at Kiba. His friend was also looking at Hinata, but with a different expression than the others. If he didn't know any better, Shino could have sworn that the look on his face was that of jealously.

Just then, Gaara stood up, the first sign of life he had shown since the other shinobi had arrived. He did a quick hand sign, and sand began swirling around him. A moment later, he was gone. The five remaining ninja stared at the space that he had just occupied. Throughout the whole event, he hadn't said a word. Big surprise.

Hinata blinked a couple of times before it registered that, now that the Sand shinobi was gone, the gazes of the other four were focused solely on her. At that moment, she wished she could disappear as well. She slowly turned back to the other three. Wait, three? She looked around quickly, wondering if she had somehow miscounted, but realized that there was indeed only three shinobi standing in front of her.

Kiba was gone.

----------

Kiba walked slowly down the roads of Konoha, Akamaru secured comfortably inside his shirt. He wasn't really sure why he had left. Something had bothered him about seeing Hinata and Gaara together, though he wasn't sure why. So he decided to take a walk to clear his thoughts. Not that it was helping much. The only thing that happened when he tried to think was that he gave himself a headache.

He sighed and sat down on a nearby bench. "What's wrong with me, Akamaru?" he asked his friend, petting him on the head. He let his mind wander, and eventually ended up wondering once again about what had happened to his female friend. Judging from her reaction, he could only guess what the perverted old man had done. He shuddered at the thought. "Sick bastard…"

"Who's a sick bastard?"

Kiba jumped. Literally. His butt actually left the hard wood of the bench and went about three inches in the air before coming back down. He turned to see Temari standing behind him, a small smile on her face. "Damn it, what the hell?" he muttered to no one in particular. He crossed his arms over his chest as he turned to face forward again.

"Seriously, who were you talking about?" Temari persisted, plopping down next to him. She had a pretty good idea, but still, it was always fun to tease people a little. Especially people you just met.

"None of your business!" Kiba snapped, startling the Sand kunoichi. _What's his problem?_ She wondered, folding her own arms. Then something dawned on her. "You like her, don't you?" she asked. "That Hinata girl." She never was good at being blunt about anything.

Kiba turned bright red. "What the hell are you talking about?" he said, trying to sound angry. But her words had hit deep. He supposed that he knew it all along; he had just been too blind to fully notice it. When had he started looking at her just a little bit differently than before? When had he started noticing the beauty of her smile, even if was usually was directed at Naruto? Naruto…Maybe that's why he had never noticed it before. Hinata's passion was always directed at the blond-haired shinobi. And for what? That certain ninja was always drooling over Sakura Haruno, and never paid her any attention. He found himself becoming angry at the thought…

"Hey, are you alright?" Temari asked, a touch of worry in her voice. Kiba looked up, and figured that his anger must have shown though. Add that to the other feelings that were probably visible on his face, and he must have looked very strange. Still, what did she care? A moment ago she was acting like a spoiled little brat who liked nothing more than to toy with people. Now it was almost like she was _worried _about him. What was her deal?

"What do you care?" the confused ninja asked, voicing his thoughts out loud. He glanced at her, and saw that she looked almost hurt by his words. She hastily stood up. "You're right, what do I care?" she muttered, and began to walk away. Kiba could have hit himself.

"Hey, wait!" he yelled, reaching out and grabbing her wrist. Temari turned, a look of surprise on her face. She stared at his hand for a moment before realizing that his grip was so tight, she had lost most of the circulation in her hand. "L-let go!" she said, pulling her wrist out of his death grip. She massaged it with her other hand, noticing the red marks he had left. _Does he have claws or something?_

"S-sorry," Kiba muttered, looking off to the side so as not to meet her gaze. "And…I didn't mean what I said before. I just…didn't think you were serious." He noticed that he was stuttering a lot. Not that he could help it; he wasn't really used to apologizing.

"I _am_ capable of compassion, you know!" Temari snapped. Her fiery gaze burned through the Leaf genin. She hated it when people thought that, just because she was related to Gaara, she was just as emotionless as him. But no one knew her; no one even _bothered _to know her. _He's the same as everyone else,_ she thought, a hint of disappointment surging through her.

Kiba, feeling the heat of her stare, turned to finally face her. Their eyes met, and Kiba noticed just how pretty and blue hers were. He stared at them for a moment longer before muttering, "I'm sorry," and running off.

----------

Hinata sighed. She had been looking for Gaara for over an hour now, and still hadn't found him. She figured she should probably apologize; after all, it was because of her that he had been put in such an awkward position. Besides, he had come to see if she had been alright when she had run off; she wanted to do the same for him.

She was wandering through the forest outside the village now. She had looked around most of Konoha and hadn't found him, so she thought he might have been hiding there somewhere. She was just about to give up and go home when she saw the one and only Gaara sitting in a tree, staring at her.

"Gaara-kun!" she said happily, running over to the trunk of the tree. They looked at each other for a moment. "D-do you mind if I come up there with you?" The Sand ninja muttered his traditional "Hn," which Hinata took as a yes. She jumped up and sat next to him. An uncomfortable silence followed.

Surprisingly, it was Gaara who broke it. He had glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw a familiar brown substance embedded in her hair. "You have sand in your hair." He said the sentence without any emotion, though the fact that he had said anything was cause for celebration.

Hinata ran a hand through her hair. "I guess I do," she said, giggling slightly. She recalled the events from earlier, when he had disappeared in a swirl of sand, and figured that some of it must have landed in her hair. She almost burst out laughing at the irony of it all.

For reasons unknown to both the male and female ninja, Gaara reached out a hand towards Hinata. She was startled at first, and almost fell out of the tree. "Don't move," he said, placing a hand in her hair and picking out a small brown particle.

It was his turn to take the sand out of her hair.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

After looking at many pictures of Temari, I saw that in some her eyes were blue, while in others they appeared black. I'm assuming that this is due to a change in light, or something of the sort that caused them to appear darker instead of the blue that they seemed to be. I also apologize if she's OOC; I've never done anything involving her and don't know her personality that well.

* * *

Wow, Gaara was way OOC in that last part, huh? I think it worked out, though. I'm trying to keep them in character, I really am! Heh. Anyway, once again, please tell me if you think the Kiba/Temari pair is a good idea or not. It was just something I decided to throw in to make it a little more interesting. :3

And, as always, thanks to everyone who's reviewed! As of right now, this story has 50 reviews! –insert loud, obnoxious cheering here– And I realized that I haven't thanked any of my anonymous reviewers yet. Because I haven't answered any of them since chapter one and it would take too long (and because I'm lazy), I'm not going to answer you individually, but I just want you to know that I really appreciate all of you! Now, speaking of reviews, go ahead and press the pretty blue button. You know you want to.


	8. Sunset

Yay! This story is almost up to 60 reviews! Wow, did you know that Microsoft Word doesn't think 'yay' is a word? Hehe. Anyway, it seems like you guys liked the pairing of Kiba and Temari, so I'll continue it! As a quick recap, when we last left the two, Kiba had just run off, leaving a very confused Temari behind. What will happen next? Read on to find out!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. –steals Temari's fan and uses it on random people–

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"Damn it, where did he go?"

Temari was wandering around the streets of Konoha, looking for Kiba. He had taken off so suddenly, leaving her behind. She rubbed her wrist where he had grabbed her; it was still red from his sharp nails. "Jeez, maybe he really does have claws. He could draw blood with those things!" She hadn't realized she had said this out loud until people started giving her weird looks. She was glad she didn't actually know anyone in the village; they would think she was some psychopath that talks to random body parts or something.

She continued her walk through the village, not knowing where she was or where she was going. People continued to stare at her, though with the looks most strangers get when they enter a foreign village, not the strange looks she had received when she had been talking to herself. She vaguely wondered where she was, but she always kept the Hokage's building in sight so she could find her way back. She was tired of searching, however, and was about to give up when she saw a familiar face.

_Hey, he's on that kid's team! _She thought, recognizing him as Shino; not that she could remember his name. She walked over to him. "Hey, have you seen your teammate around?" she asked, putting on as friendly a face as possible. "We were having a chat when he ran off all of a sudden. You know, the one with the cute little dog?" She wanted to puke at that last line. _Cute little dog? What the hell am I thinking?_

Shino shook his head. "No," he said, no emotion showing on his partly-hidden face. _Great, _Temari thought. _Stick a gourd on his back and he'd be a Gaara clone. _"However, if I see him, I will tell him you were looking for him," Shino continued before walking away. As he left, Temari saw a few bugs scurry up his arm. _Ok, now that's just creepy,_ she thought, a look of pure disgust on her face. She decided that Konoha was full of freaks. She sighed and continued walking. She had been walking for about ten minutes when she was stopped.

"Hey, babe!" A man said, walking unsteadily towards her. Judging by the smell of alcohol surrounding him, Temari figured that he must have been drunk. As if the small hiccups he let out now and then and his wobbly walking weren't a dead giveaway.

"What did you just call me?" Temari asked, her eyebrow twitching slightly. She wasn't really the type of girl who liked being called 'babe' by random drunkards she met on the street. Or random people who _weren't_ drunk, for that matter.

"Aw, come on!" the man hiccupped, now standing directly in front of her. He reached out and placed a hand on her chest. "We can have a lot of fun together, you know."

"Get off of me, you pervert!" Temari yelled, pushing him away from her. She was very tempted to pull out her fan and kill the bastard then and there, but she didn't want to ruin the new peace treaty between her village and the Leaf village. Still, the man persisted, and fell forward so that his head landed right between her breasts. "That feels nice…" he murmured, the smell of sake even stronger now that he was closer to her. She turned a bright red and was about to forcefully shove him away when someone else did her the favor.

"Yo, bastard," Kiba said, grabbing the guy by the collar of his shirt and dragging him away from Temari. "She said she didn't like you doing that, so get the hell away from here!" He pushed the guy roughly away from him, and the drunk staggered off.

"I-I could have done that myself," Temari stammered, her face slowly returning to its normal color. She pulled up her shirt where it had fallen slightly from when the guy had fallen on her.

"Wow, you're welcome," Kiba said sarcastically. "Remind me next time not to help you. Or maybe you were liking it?" This comment resulted in him receiving a hard shove from the flustered kunoichi. "Shut up! What are you even doing here, anyway?"

"Shino told me you were looking for me. Did you really miss me that badly?" Kiba replied with a smirk. He was definitely back to his old self; not the flustered and confused ninja Temari had met earlier.

"Hell no!" She shouted, a small blush creeping up her neck. "You just ran off so suddenly, that's all. It's rude, you know." Just then, Akamaru stuck his head out of Kiba's shirt and barked. Temari gave a small shriek and leapt back, causing Kiba to laugh. "What, don't tell me you're afraid of Akamaru?" he said, petting the small dog on the head.

"O-of course not!" Temari said, her blush reddening from embarrassment. "I-it just startled me is all." Akamaru barked again, causing Temari to make a strange noise that sounded like a cross between a shriek and a squeal. She expected Kiba to laugh again, but just the opposite.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice suddenly serious. "You really are scared of him, aren't you?" Kiba was confused. He had never met someone who was actually scared of Akamaru before; after all, it's not like he was some killer attack dog or anything like that. He sat down on a large rock on the side of the road and motioned for Temari to join him. "Why are you so afraid of him?" he continued when she was settled beside him. "Did something happen between you and dogs?"

Temari hesitated before answering. "I guess you could say that," she said quietly. "It happened when I was really little; about four or five. I was playing when someone's dog got loose. It was this really big bulldog, and it started chasing me. I wasn't looking where I was going and feel into the nearby river. We had just had a huge rainstorm, so the waters were really high, and I couldn't swim in the first place. I would have drowned if Gaara and Kankuro hadn't come and pulled me out. I guess that's why I have a fear of dogs."

Both of them were silent for a moment before Kiba said, "I'm sorry I laughed at you earlier. I didn't realize it was something like that. But, you know, Akamaru isn't like that. He wouldn't hurt anyone without a good reason." Akamaru gave a small bark of agreement and nuzzled against Temari's leg. The kunoichi shuddered at the touch. Kiba smiled. "Don't worry, he won't hurt you. I promise."

Temari slowly reached out a hand to pet Akamaru, then pulled it back, shaking her head. "I can't do it," she said softly. "I want to pet him, really I do. But it's just not that easy…" Her voice trailed off. She closed her eyes in disappointment, then opened them when she felt something warm on her hand. She looked down to see that Kiba had placed his hand on hers.

"Don't worry," he said gently. "I'll help you." For some reason, Kiba really wanted Temari to see Akamaru the same way he did; not just as a dog, but as a friend. The Sand shinobi gave a small nod, and slowly, Kiba pulled her hand towards Akamaru. He waited for any signs that showed that she was uncomfortable and wanted him to stop; but he saw none, and he continued. After a moment, Temari felt her hand touch the dog's soft fur, and she relaxed a little.

"See? It's not that bad, is it?" Kiba asked, smiling. Temari also had a small smile on her face and nodded again. Kiba looked down and saw her wrist; it was the same one that he had grabbed earlier. It was still red, and he could have sword he saw a small drop of dried blood as well. "I did that to you, didn't I?"

Temari opened her eyes, which she had unconsciously squeezed shut, and followed his gaze down to her wrist. Her eyes softened when she saw the pained expression on the young genin's face. "Don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt as much as it looks." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Really." She resumed petting Akamaru. "He's so soft!" she said with a laugh. She also noticed that Kiba's hand still rested on hers, but oddly, she didn't mind.

Kiba smiled. "Isn't he?" he said, happy that the girl in front of him was enjoying herself. Seeing the large smile on her face even made him forget about hurting her earlier; the fact that it didn't seem to bother her helped him to forget, too. He glanced up at the sky to see the sun slowly lowering itself behind the forest of trees outside the village. Seeing the setting sun gave him an idea. "Hey, can you come with me for a bit?" he asked, a light blush settling on his face. "I have something I want to show you."

Temari looked up at him. "Sure," she said, the smile still on her face. She stood up and brushed herself off, slightly disappointed that his hand no longer rested on top of hers. Akamaru jumped off the rock and landed beside her.

"Great!" Kiba said, smiling brightly. He reached down and grabbed her hand again, only this time he actually held it, instead of just resting it gently on top of hers. He was careful not to hurt her with his long nails again. As they walked, Kiba kept careful track of the position of the sun. It wasn't completely sunset yet; the sun hovered just above the trees and the walls that bordered the village.

He led Temari almost all the way to the other side of the village, away from the surrounding forest; the whole time he held her hand, silently pleased that she wasn't complaining. As they were walking up a steep hill, however, she began to wonder just where they were going.

"Hey, where are you taking me?" she asked; her voice had a touch of annoyance in it. "We've been walking forever, and it'll be dark…" her voice trailed off when they reached the top of the hill, and saw that it overlooked a large blue lake. Its icy blue surface reflected the brilliant colors of the sunset, turning the water an arrangement of reds, oranges, and purples. "…soon."

"Well? What do you think?" Kiba asked, not sure if she liked things like watching sunsets. He needn't have worried, though. Temari turned to him, her eyes glittering with delight. "It's beautiful," she whispered. "Thank you." She sat down on the grassy hillside when something dawned on her. "I don't think I even know your name."

"It's Kiba," he answered, sitting down beside her. Akamaru ran around them playfully before laying down in front of his owner. "I don't think I know yours, either."

"Temari," the Sand ninja said, staring at the beautiful sunset in front of her. The sky was a mixture of pink and orange around the sun, but turned to a soft purple the further up in the sky her eyes traveled. "You know, purple is my favorite color," she said softly, just loud enough for Kiba to hear her.

"Really?" Kiba said, spreading his legs out in front of him. "Well, I'm glad you could see it. You know, while you're here in Konoha." He really was glad that he could show her a good time before she left.

In the glow of the sunset, Kiba gently placed his hand on top of Temari's, and the two sat like that until well after the sun was hidden beneath the surrounding hills.

* * *

Great, more OOCness. Grr. I'm trying as best I can to keep them relatively in character, but sometimes it doesn't really work out. Meh. Anyway, thanks for reading chapter eight! As I'm writing this, I still don't have a title for it yet. Does 'Sunset' sound too corny? Well, I guess it could fit, seeing as how the ending to this chapter was corny, too. I wonder if Temari really does have a favorite color…

I know, Gaara and Hinata weren't even in this chapter. Please don't kill me! There will be a lot of moments of them in the upcoming chapters! I already have it worked out. Well, kinda. Poor Shino. He's all alone. Unless you want me to pair him with Kankuro. -shudders- Anyway, on a different note, have you noticed how I keep making psychotic characters? First Michio, and now some perverted drunk guy. I hope they aren't a reflection of my personality or something. -shudders again- Well, by now I'm sure you're tired of my random babbling. As always, please review!

Ja ne!


	9. Mission

Well, here is the next chapter! We start a new kind of arc thingy now. There will be lots of fluff between both pairings, but mostly Gaara and Hinata. I feel like I kinda owe you after not having them at all in the last chapter. Gaara's still mad at me for that. And, just for the record, I was kidding about the whole Shino and Kankuro thing. I think some people might have actually taken it seriously…

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. But I have…Warheads sour spray stuff! -sprays it at Gaara-

* * *

Hinata walked around the Hyuuga compound, thinking about her day. It was interesting, to say the least. After everything that had happened with Gaara, she wasn't sure what to think. They had just met, and the last time she saw him personally had been at the Chuunin Exam when he had been trying to kill people. So why was he being so nice to her? On top of it all, she had heard that Kiba and Temari had been seen together; and _holding hands_ nonetheless! The only thing she _was_ sure of was that she didn't want to see the Hokage for awhile, seeing as how she had run out of her office with no explanation.

She signed and sat on a rock in the garden, placing her chin in her hands. There was a light breeze blowing, causing leaves and flower petals to rain down on her. She reached up and removed a leaf from her hair, and was reminded of Gaara once again. The image of him reaching over and delicately taking each individual grain of sand out of hair…she blushed at the thought. _Did that really happen?_ She wondered, although the lack of sand in her hair should have sufficed as proof. However, after that, he had left in another gust of sand soon after, for no apparent reason.

"Hinata-sama? What's the matter?" Hinata looked up and saw her cousin Neji standing in front of her, a somewhat worried look on his face. Since their battle during the Chuunin Exam, their relationship had gotten better, though they still couldn't really be considered 'friends'. At least Neji would talk to her without glaring at her for being a member of the Head family.

"It's nothing, Neji-niisan," Hinata answered with a smile. "I was just…thinking about some stuff. I'm sorry to have worried you." She was silently proud of herself for saying three whole sentences without stuttering.

"Not at all," Neji answered, giving a slight bow. Although their relationship had strengthened, he would still show her the proper respect, from a member of the Branch family to a member of the Head. He turned to leave, then said, "If you need to talk, I am here."

"Thank you, Neji-niisan," Hinata said. She hesitated before saying, "Actually, there is something. I-If you wouldn't mind…" She looked at the ground, her joy at having not stuttered gone. Neji turned and sat down on the rock next to her. "Not at all, Hinata-sama."

"W-well, the thing is," she hesitated again. How could she put it without causing too much suspicion? "T-that is…What do you do if you're with a guy and he picks sand out of your hair and then for no reason he runs away?"

Neji gave her a blank stare. "Come again?" She had said the one sentence so fast that it seemed like one giant word instead of individual ones. There was something about a guy, sand, and running away; that was pretty much all he got. "Try taking a deep breath, and start again."

Hinata did so, and told her about her recent experiences. Well, she left out the part about being sexually assaulted; she didn't think her cousin really needed to know that part. Neji sat and listened throughout the whole story, surprised when she got to the part where she offered to take the sand out of Gaara's hair. He had never known her to be so bold as to even ask someone what time of day it was, let alone offer to reach into their personal bubble to take tiny brown substances out of their hair. She finished with, "What do you think I should do?" and returned her gaze to the ground.

"Well, Hinata-sama, I'm not quite sure," Neji began. "After all, I do not know this Gaara aside from what I've heard and what I've seen for myself during the Chuunin Exam. However, if he is anything like he was back then, then I for one would not like you seeing him."

"Oh," Hinata muttered. It wasn't exactly the response she had been hoping for.

"Please let me finish," Neji continued. "That isn't to say that I don't trust your judgment. If you see that he is different from when we last saw him, and if Tsunade-sama trusts him enough to send him and his teammates on a mission with you, then I will trust you as well. So, Hinata-sama, to answer your question, I think that you should trust your heart, and do what you believe is right."

Hinata placed her hand over where she thought her heart might be. "My heart…"she muttered, lifting her gaze from the ground. "Thank you, Neji-niisan," she said, smiling again. "That really helped. Arigatou."

After that, she went to her room and prepared for bed. She was no longer as anxious as she had been before, and as she put on her pajamas, she looked into the mirror and smiled at herself. She didn't still didn't know what Gaara thought about everything, but at least she felt better about everything that was going on. She went to bed, and sleept soundly until she heard a loud knock on her door.

"Hinata-sama, the Hokage is calling for you."

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Hinata stood anxiously in Tsunade's office, accompanied by Kiba, Shino, and the three Sand shinobi. Everyone was just as clueless as she was, having been summoned so suddenly. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and cast a nervous glance at Gaara. The Sand ninja looked straight ahead, seemingly oblivious to Hinata's gaze.

"Thank you all for coming," Tsunade said suddenly, breaking the eerie silence that had filled the room. "Sorry for calling you so unexpectedly like this, but I have another mission for you." She turned to Gaara and his siblings. "My dear friends from the Sand, I was hoping I could ask for your assistance once again, since you seemed to work so well with these three yesterday." She gestured to the members ofTeam Seven.

"Sure," Temari said, glancing at her brothers to see if they objected. When they didn't, she continued. "No problem. We were just thinking about staying another day in Konoha anyway." She looked at both Kankuro and Gaara individually. "Right?" Kankuro just shrugged, and Gaara gave his traditional "Hn" in resonse.

"Alright, now that that's settled, let's get tothe mission, shall we? Shizune, give them the details, please," Tsunade said, gesturing to the young woman who stood beside her. "And don't worry, it isn't an escort mission," she added, seeing Hinata's pale face.

"There is a village called Rairyuu in the South," Shizune said, beginning the explanation. "There's a legend about how a long time ago, before the village was created, there were three mystical dragons that ruled the land. There was a small collection of houses and people there, but not enough to be considered a real village; still, the people led peaceful lives, and the dragons protected them from enemies. However, each year, a sacrifice needed to be offered to the dragons, or they wouldn't protect the village anymore.

"One year, they sent their offering down to the neighboring lake, where the dragons awaited their arrival. However, for some unexplained reason, the sacrifice and all those with it suddenly disappeared. Because the dragons didn't get their offering that year, they left the village; but not before creating a huge thunderstorm that caused an enormous tidal wave that nearly destroyed it. Afterwards, the remaining people worked to turn the town into a real village, and named it after the dragons that had protected it for so long: Rai meaning lightning, and ryuu meaning dragon."

"That's so sad," Hinata whispered, clutching her hand tightly. "The idea that they actually used people as sacrifices…"

"Yeah, it is depressing," Kiba agreed, "but what does it have to do with our mission?"

"There are rumors around the village that say that the dragons have come back for revenge," Shizune continued. "Normally, they would just be cast off as tales spread to increase the village's reputation, but several witnesses that have gone in to trade or visit claim to have actually seen them. At this point, it can't be ignored, so we decided to send you to investigate it."

"But that's just an old legend," Temari said. "It's not like it's actually true. I mean, there's no such thing as dragons. And even if there were, do all six of us need to go? Wouldn't that just attract attention?"

"You make a good point," Tsunade said, taking over again. "However, it seems that all three dragons have been spotted in the area. As a precaution, I've decided to send all of you just in case."

"But how do we know that people aren't just mistaking one for all three, but just seeingit at different times?" Kiba asked. "I mean, people _are_ stupid like that."

"They're known by their distinct colors," Tsunade replied. "One is light blue, another is red, and the last one is dark purple. Sightings of all three have been reported, and some even claim to have seen all three at one time." She gave a small smirk. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were trying to get out of working with each other."

"O-of course not!" Kiba said, crossing his arms. It wasn't that he didn't _want_ to work with Temari; it was just that both of them felt somewhat embarrassed about the events from the day before and didn't know how to approach the other. Hence, their reluctance to go on a mission together.

"Well, that's good to hear," Tsunade said. "Since there are six of you, I'm not going to assign a squad leader; however, I expect you all to work together. Now, I'll give you some time to get ready. Meet at the entrance gate in an hours' time. Dismissed."

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Exactly sixty minutes later, the group was off on their new mission, jumping through the trees of the forest. Not much had been said, aside from the normal conversation on the order of which they would travel. The final positions were Shino, who was in the lead, followed by Kankuro, Kiba, Temari and Gaara, with Hinata in the rear. Shino was in front because he could use his bugs to scout ahead, and Hinata was in back because she could use her Byakugan to check behind them.

They traveled silently for almost the whole way, only talking to discuss break times and travel plans. Although Hinata was feeling more confident about herself in regards to what had happened, she still didn't know how to approach Gaara; she highly doubted that he would speak to her first, seeing as how he didn't talk much anyway. Kiba and Temari, though they hadboth thoroughly enjoyed spending the day together, weren't quite sure about what the other thought of it, and decided to leave it alone until the other addressed it. Which, at the rate things were going, would take awhile. As for Shino and Kankuro, they were basically caught in the middle: both knew nothing of their teammates' thoughts or the reasons they weren't speaking, but were kind of enjoying the silence, and decided to leave it alone until they found out what the hell was going on.

After only a day of traveling, they were nearing the border of Reiryuu. They were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking at the raging waters below, when the ground beneath them began to shake; softly at first, then the strength of the quake began to grow. Before they fully realized what was happening, the earth began to crack, and eventually gave way beneath them. Gaara and Hinata fell off in one direction, while Kiba and Temari fell in another. Shino and Kankuro were left on the cliff above, but they faced dangers of their own. All around them, trees began to collapse, causing them to jump in all sorts of directions to avoid them.

In the waters below, the ever-growing waves were raging all around the four shinobi, pushing them in different directions.

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And thus ends chapter nine! Wow, I can't believe we're already that far! I want to thank everyone who's been supportive so far. And for all those anonymous people who have reviewed, thank you so much! I love you all! 


	10. Nature

Wow, this story has over 80 reviews! I'm so happy! Now, in case you haven't figured it out by now, the gang has been split into three groups: Gaara and Hinata in one, Kiba and Temari in another, and Shino and Kankuro in the last one. Now, let chapter ten begin!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto. -tackle huggles Gaara-

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Hinata struggled against the raging waters of the sea, trying her hardest to keep her head above the liquid. She looked around, searching for one of the other three that had fallen off the cliff with her, but they had all been swept away as well. The wind began blowing stronger, causing the waves to become even higher. Soon the simple task of staying above the water became impossible, and Hinata soon found herself under the surface. As she sunk deeper into the depths and began to lose consciousness, she was vaguely aware of someone with red hair grabbing her around the waist.

Temari was in a similar situation, but for a different reason: she couldn't swim. After her incident with the dog and the river as a child, a lot of people told her should learn, but as well as developing a fear of dogs, she became terrified of water as well; she refused to go anywhere near it, let alone get _in _it. At this particular moment, however, she was wishing she had learned when she had the chance.

She was doing alright for a little while, somehow managing to stay above the water. But the second the waters grew even the slightest bit rougher, she was in trouble. She, too, began to sink beneath the water; after a moment, however, she felt herself being brought to the surface. She gasped for air as she looked around for her savior: It was Kiba.

"Are you alright?" Kiba said, shouting to be heard over the sound of the roaring waves. He had his arm wrapped around Temari, while she had placed her hands on his chest and was clinging to him tightly. The kunoichi managed a slight nod; it was the first real interaction the two had had since their afternoon together.

"Good," Kiba said. "Now, we need to get out of here. Akamaru senses a storm coming." Indeed, thick grey clouds had begun to merge into the sky, and the raging wind was a sure sign that a storm was on its way. He looked down at the girl he was holding, who appeared to be very frightened. "You can't swim, can you?" Temari shook her head, too afraid to speak. There weren't many things that could scare her, but water was definitely one of them. "Alright, then hold on to me tight, and don't let go."

----------

Meanwhile, above the raging waters, Shino and Kankuro were having some trouble of their own. Not only were the trees collapsing because of the earthquake, but the rain that had begun falling had made the already weak ground even more unstable. Soon, they were not only dodging large falling plants, they were being chased by a giant mudslide as well. All the running they were doing was taking them further away from the cliff from which their teammates had fallen.

"Damn it!" Kankuro said, jumping over a fallen tree. "We were sent to fight dragons, not mud and trees! Wait, that sounded weird…"

"This is no time for that," Shino said, keeping his cool as usual. "We need to go back and help the others." It was a great plan in theory, but neither of them had the right ninja techniques or materials to use at the moment, so they were kind of stuck in their current predicament.

"Yeah, great idea!" Kankuro said, getting annoyed at the whole situation. "I just have one question: How the hell are we supposed to do that?" Not only were the circumstances irritating him, he was getting pissed of at Shino too. The fact that the Konoha genin never seemed to show any emotion reminded him too much of his brother, and one Gaara was more than enough in his eyes.

"There is no reason to get upset," Shino said, avoiding a tumbling boulder. "I was merely stating a fact. However, seeing as how we've been separated from the others, we need to work together until we find them."

Working together with the Aburame was the last thing Kankuro wanted to do. He had a brief remembrance of their last encounter, in which they had been fighting during what was supposed to be the Chuunin Exam. The genin had been surprisingly strong, and Kankuro had ended up losing the battle. He didn't exactly have good memories of being with the bug-user, and the fact that he was already in a bad mood wasn't helping things. Add that to his already strange personality, and things spelled disaster.

"I don't need you bossing me around!" Kankuro snapped, his temper getting the better of him. "In case you already forgot, we were the ones that saved your ass a few days ago!" Well, technically Temari had been the one who saved Shino, but that was just a minor detail.

"I did not forget," Shino said, beginning to get ticked off as well. Running through the forest for a whole day with little rest was beginning to take its toll. "I was merely trying to come up with a plan. Or do you have one of your own?"

"Just shut up!" Kankuro yelled, not having a decent comeback. "Stop acting like you're so superior to everyone! You're as bad as Gaara!"

Shino was about to say something back when a loud roar echoed throughout the trees. The two shinobi stopped, noticing that the earth had stopped shaking and the trees had ceased their falling. The fallen trees and boulders behind them stopped the vicious flow of mud and debris that had been following them; the only thing that worked to their disadvantage was the increasing rain and wind from the coming storm.

The roar sounded again, and the two looked up at the sky, only to find a large red beast circling the ever-darkening sky. They had found the first of the dragons.

----------

Hinata slowly opened her eyes. She was lying on her back in what appeared to be a cave. She blinked a couple of times to adjust to the dim light before moving to a sitting position.

"So, you're awake."

Startled, Hinata turned, and saw Gaara sitting a few feet away from her. His gourd, which usually sat on his back, was lying on the ground beside him. Water was dripping from his hair, and his wet clothes were plastered against his body. It was then that Hinata realized that she, too, was wet.

"W-what happened?" she asked, shivering slightly from the cold. "I was in the water, and then…" her voice trailed off as she remembered the red hair she saw just before she lost consciousness. "Gaaara-kun, did you s-save me?"

"Hn," Gaara muttered before turning away. Had the cave not been so dark, Hinata would have been able to see the light blush that had crept up his neck as he remembered what had happened.

_Gaara had been fighting against the rough waves when he saw a lock of blue hair disappear underneath the water. He immediately dove after it, only to find the Hyuuga heir near unconsciousness from lack of air. He quickly swam back to the surface, clutching the girl tightly. Looking around, he saw the only land nearby was a small beach with a cave carved into the cliff behind it. He swam as quickly as he could towards it while trying to keep Hinata from sinking back beneath the murky waters. By the time he reached the cavern, it had begun to rain, and the wind was howling ferociously. He carried the girl inside and set her down gently on the rocky ground._

_It was then that he noticed that she had stopped breathing._

_Flinging his gourd to the ground, he bent down and leaned his ear against her chest. She hadn't stopped breathing completely, as he had thought; but her breath was coming in short, strained gasps, and he could hear the sound of water in her lungs. It seemed as though she had breathed some of the liquid in while beneath the waves._

_Gaara knew that Hinata wouldn't last long at the rate she was going. Already, her breathing had become slower; he felt her wrist and found a weak pulse. He was contemplating what he should do when she had ceased breathing altogether._

_Gaara began to panic. Wasn't there something he learned at the ninja academy about this sort of thing? The answer popped into his head: CPR. His face paled when he thought of it. He glanced once more at the girl to make sure that she had indeed stopped breathing; having confirmed the fact, he bent over her, cursing silently. Closing his eyes, he pressed his lips on hers and blew air into them, then pressed gently on her chest with his palms, repeating the sequence. On the seventh attempt, Hinata coughed, water spurting out of her mouth, and her breathing returned to normal._

Gaara had had a lot of time to think about things between the procedure and Hinata's awakening. There really was no other way to look at it: that had been his first kiss. Now, obviously, the Sand ninja didn't normally think about such things, but when faced with the real thing, he couldn't help himself. He kept thinking about how soft her lips had felt against his…

Gaara was about to physically hit himself for thinking such things when Hinata had finally woken up. Calmly, so as not to raise suspicion, he stated the fact that she was awake. When asked if he had saved her, however, he was forced to look away, lest he risk his embarrassment being revealed.

Hinata didn't seem to notice. "I-I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble," she said, staring at the ground. _All I ever do is cause trouble for everyone,_ she found herself thinking. _Even now, I had to be rescued by Gaara-kun again. I'm so pathetic…_ A small tear slid down her cheek, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Why are you crying?" Gaara asked, trying his best to keep any emotion out of his voice. For a second, he was afraid that she had found out everything, and was crying out of embarrassment. He stood and walked slowly over to her, not sure what he should do. He was saved from doing anything, however; just then, there was a noise outside the cave that sounded almost like an explosion. The ground shook, and pieces of rock began to fall from the ceiling.

"It's collapsing," Gaara said calmly. "We should leave." Hinata nodded, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. "Come on." She looked up, and saw Gaara's outstretched hand in front of her. Blushing slightly, she grabbed it, and was gently lifted to her feet. Without letting go of her hand, Gaara pulled her through the collapsing cavern, his sand protecting them from the falling debris. Soon, they were out of the cave, and were standing in the pouring rain and howling wind of the storm.

"I wonder what made the cave collapse," Gaara wondered aloud, looking around. There was nothing in the immediate area that looked to be the cause; however, on the cliff, right above where the cave stood, the trees and shrubs were on fire. The bright orange-red flames danced in the rain-filled land, lighting up the dim sky.

"I-I can look around, if you like," Hinata muttered, twiddling her fingers nervously. "W-with my Byakugan, I mean…" She glanced at Gaara, who gave her a small nod, telling her to continue. "R-right. Byakugan!" Using her Kekkei Genkai, she scouted the surrounding area, looking through trees and other various objects within about a one mile radius. She was about to give up when she saw something that caught her eye. It was a long, scaly animal flying in the sky. It looked almost like…

"T-the dragon!" she said, her eyes returning to normal. "O-one of the dragons is c-coming this way!"

----------

Temari sat coughing on the sandy shore, with Kiba beside her. It hadn't exactly been easy getting there; with the waters getting stronger and the waves getting higher every minute, it had been difficult for Kiba to swim to the beach. He had to carry the Sand kunoichi as well, which only made things that much harder. They had eventually made it to safety, but not after being dunked under the water several times.

"Are you alright?" Kiba asked, concerned. Temari hadn't exactly gotten the fact that you weren't supposed to inhale the water when you went under it, and had spent the past ten minutes coughing up the liquid. Kiba's worry was steadily increasing, as he began to wonder just how much water she had swallowed. "Hey!"

"I'm fine," Temari said as she finally stopped coughing. "So you can stop yelling now." She tried to stand, but was weak from all the water she had swallowed. She would have fallen over if Kiba hadn't caught her.

"You know, I would have thought that after what happened when you were little, you would have learned how to swim," he said, bringing her gently back down to the ground. Temari glared at him. "Shut up. So I'm afraid of the water. Sue me, why don't you?" Her earlier fear had been replaced with her usual attitude.

"Woah, calm down," Kiba said; Akamaru, who had been hiding in his shirt, came out and rubbed against Temari's leg. "I didn't mean anything by it. I was just surprised, that's all." He sat down on the beach next to her, absentmindedly petting Akamaru. Temari reached down to do the same, and their hands touched. Both blushed as they pulled away.

"Sorry," Kiba muttered, for lack of anything else to say. He stood back up. "I guess we should start looking for the others. Not that we can see anything in this damn rain…" The drops were coming down hard now, blowing every which way because of the wind, and their visibility was greatly reduced.

"Y-yeah," Temari agreed, standing up as well; this time she didn't fall over. As she began to follow Kiba, she saw something out of the corner of her eye: a large ball of blue fire was heading straight for them. "Look out!" She cried, lunging at Kiba and tackling him to the ground. Before the startled genin knew what was going on, the fireball sailed over their heads and landed with a large _SPLASH_ in the ocean behind them.

The third and final dragon had revealed itself.

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I won't even mention the OOCness, because we all know it was there. Still, this chapter was so fun to write! I hope you all enjoyed reading it, as well. In the next one, the battle with the dragons will begin! Dun dun dun! And, as always, please review!

Ja ne!


	11. Dragons

Well, finally, here's the next chapter! I really wanted to get it up last night, but it would have been posted at about one in the morning so…yeah. Once again, thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far! I luff you all! Think we can get to 100 this chapter? I'll give everyone who reviews a virtual cookie!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto. But I do own the dragons, and will use them to take over….FINLAND!

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Kankuro and Shino were doing a lot of running on this mission.

After the avalanche of trees, rocks, mud, and other various objects of nature had ceased, they had looked up to see a large red dragon circling the sky. After a few minutes, it went down and landed somewhere. Now, seeing as how it was their mission to find out what was really behind the sudden dragon appearance, they had to chase towards where they thought it had settled; and, of course, the fastest way was to run.

While most shinobi would take this opportunity to come up with some kind of strategy or battle plan, their trip was used to send fierce glares back and forth. Tired from fatigue and exhaustion, the two had pretty much reached their limit of tolerance: Kankuro was annoyed with Shino's 'shitty attitude,' as he called it, and Shino was tired of listening to the Sand ninja's complaints about him. He also didn't like being compared to Kankuro's brother, who, in his mind, was basically a psychopath who fought just for the joy of killing. Not that he was wrong, exactly; he was just referring to the Old Gaara, so to speak. The New Gaara was much less violent, and didn't kill nearly as often as he used to.

To put it simply, the two were going completely unprepared into a battle in which they knew absolutely nothing about their opponent, all because they were too busy being pissed off at their companion. So, it's really no surprise that when they arrived, they didn't do too well.

The first thing they noticed was the size of the dragon. It was _big, _to say the least. It was at least fifty meters long from head to tail, and another twenty meters wide. He – for they decided that the beast was male – had two short legs in the front and two in the back. How they supported him was anybody's guess. He seemed to be waiting for them to arrive; as soon as the two shinobi stepped into the clearing, he lifted his head, and actually gave them a small smirk.

They didn't know dragons were capable of smirking.

The red dragon stood and stretched his front legs, making a kind of groaning sound. He turned to them and blew a small ring of smoke from his mouth, as if taunting them. The two shinobi just stared at for a moment before Kankuro spoke. "It's big."

Shino looked at him. "I think that's fairly obvious."

Kankuro scowled. "Shut up! I was only making an observation! Annoying little brat…" the last part he muttered under his breath, not really caring whether his 'comrade' heard him or not.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't resort to name calling," Shino said, calmly and quietly, an unspoken threat hidden in the words. Kankuro shivered; he hated being reminded of his brother, especially in the way of silent death threats. Before he could think of some sort of witty comeback, however, he was interrupted by loud laughing behind him. The two shinobi turned, and saw that the dragon was _laughing_ at them.

"Stupid humans," he said, snorting and breathing more smoke from his nostrils. "You never shut the hell up, do you? You do realize that I could have easily killed you while you were arguing, don't you?" He sighed. "I'm having a hard time deciding which one of you I should kill first; neither of you look like you'd even make good appetizers.

The two just stared at it. "Did that thing just talk?" Kankuro said after a moment.

"I believe so," Shino replied, their argument temporarily forgotten.

The dragon snorted again. "Yet another example of the stupidity of humans. In case you have forgotten, I am a dragon of legend. I have lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It's only natural that I would learn your language after so long; however strange it may be."

"Ok, sure. Anything else we should know?" Kankuro asked sarcastically. "You know, while you're at it, can you tell us your weakness or something? After all, we humans are so stupid we won't be able to figure it out on our own."

The dragon laughed again. "You amuse me, human," he said. "In that case, I will tell you one thing. My name is Kaji, the dragon of fire. As for my weakness, it wouldn't matter even if I did tell you, seeing as how you're both going to die anyway." And with that, he flew up into the air, flapping his large wings and creating a violent swirl of dust and wind. In seconds, he was high in the air, circling the two, as if toying with them.

"Well, this is great. How the hell are we supposed to fight him if he's in the air?" Kankuro said. "Neither of us have any techniques that can reach that high, and last I checked, we couldn't fly."

"In a situation like this, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't be so sarcastic," Shino replied. "We need to come up with some kind of strategy."

"No shit, bug boy," Kankuro said, folding his arms across his chest. "I was just trying to lighten things up, but I guess that doesn't work for you, does it? So what do _you_ suggest we do? Somehow, I doubt your little bugs would be able to stand up against that thing." He gestured towards the dragon, who, to their horror, had decided he was bored of playing with his food and was now attempting to dive-bomb the two shinobi. His mouth was glowing red as he flew down, and seconds later a giant fireball had formed and was shot down at the two below. It hit the ground with a deafening explosion.

----------

On a small beach near the ocean, Gaara and Hinata were also about to encounter a dragon; the light purple one was heading straight towards them. It was similar to the red one, aside from a variance in size: this one was only half the size of the other one.

Hinata looked on nervously as the dragon came to a rest in front of them. Beside her, Gaara just grunted, wanting to get the whole mission over with. For a moment, dragon just stared at them. "Jeez, I never thought you two would come out of hiding!" it said in a high-pitched voice, signifying that it was female. "Seriously, do you know how long I've been waiting? I got bored, so I decided to blast you out." She swung her head to indicate the pile of burning trees and brush atop the cliff. "See? Isn't it impressive?"

Hinata looked at Gaara. "I-is it talking?" she asked shakily, alarmed at the fact that a supposedly mythical beast was speaking to them. The dragon, however, answered for her.

"How rude!" she said huffily. "I _do_ have a name, you know! It's Rai, the dragon of thunder!" She stood proudly, as if her name was legendary and sent shivers into anyone who heard it.

It was then that Gaara spoke up. "You're purple. In no way does that color associate with the element of thunder." His voice was calm and void of emotion, which only ticked off the small dragon in front of him.

"That's mean!" she said angrily. "It's not my fault! I can't control what color my beautiful scales are!" She extended her claws. "I've decided: you get to die first!" She flapped her wings and rose into the air, snarling. "Meanie!" she yelled as she fired a large stream of lightning from her mouth.

Hinata began to move to dodge the attack, but stopped when Gaara spoke. "Don't move," he said, flinging the cork for his gourd to the ground. "My sand will protect us." Indeed, the sand began to converge in front of him, forming a wall to prevent the attack from hitting the two shinobi. Unfortunately, the blast was stronger than expected, and the two were sent flying backwards as the last remains of the attack broke through the shield.

They landed roughly on the ground, the sand cushioning their fall. Hinata sat up and rubbed her head, but was surprised when her arm felt somewhat heavy. She glanced over at Gaara and saw that he was eying his own hand suspiciously, and was about to say something when she heard laughing.

"Surprised?" Rai chuckled. "I told you I was the dragon of thunder; my attack was charged with tiny electric particles. When it hits the target, they instantly enter the body and attach themselves to the iron particles in the blood stream. There's approximately five or six grams of iron in the body; plenty of substance for the electricity to find. Once they attach themselves to the iron, then adjust their makeup and make them ten times as heavier, causing the body to become heavier as well." She laughed again. "This is what you get for underestimating me! You were lucky that my attack only grazed you, otherwise you wouldn't even be able to move!"

"Shut up," Gaara said, standing up. "I don't care about your stupid technique." He performed a series of hand signs, sending the sand that surrounded him towards the dragon. Beside him, Hinata got slowly to her feet, watching as the sand sped towards the opponent.

Just before the sand was about to hit, the dragon…disappeared. Hinata stared at the spot where she had been flying. _Where did she go?_ She wondered; then she heard the sound of wings fluttering behind her. Before she could turn around, she was caught in the tight grip of Rai's claws.

----------

Temari was on top of Kiba, having pushed him to the ground only moments before to avoid a large blue fireball. Upon closer inspection, however, the two saw that it wasn't made of fire at all, but water. Very _dangerous_ water.

Noticing that she was still on top of him, Temari got up and moved away from Kiba. "S-sorry," she muttered, blushing slightly. Kiba turned red as well. "No problem," he muttered, standing up; Temari did the same. Turning, they saw the final dragon sitting patiently on the beach. This one was blue, and was in between the other two in size.

"Well, I was wondering when you'd notice I was here," it said; judging from the voice, it seemed to be a male like the first one. "You humans sure are slow." He stood up and stretched. "Well, I might as well introduce myself. My name is Mizu, the dragon of water. Pleased to meet you."

The two shinobi exchanged glances. "Did you know that dragons could talk?" Temari asked. Kiba shook his head. "Nope," he replied, Akamaru barking in agreement.

"I've lived over five of your lifetimes," Mizu replied, sighing. "Did you really think I wouldn't be able to speak?" He stretched again. "Now, I hate to do this, but I have my orders to eliminate you. Please don't take it personally." With that, he shot another ball of water from his mouth.

Temari whipped out her fan, hopped onto it, grabbed Kiba, and flew into the air. They hovered just out of the water's reach, and it landed with a harmless _SPLASH_ on the beach; loud, but harmless nonetheless. Or so they thought. As they landed back on the sand, the water particles from the blast began to reassemble around them, until it created a large bubble of water around the two, and they were trapped within.

_Damn,_ Temari thought, a small bubble of air escaping her lips. She once again opened her fan, which took up almost all the space inside their watery prison; with one swift wave of the object, the wind created blew the bubble into pieces. The two genin sat fell to the ground, and sat coughing on the sandy beach.

"Well, that was fun," Kiba said sarcastically, standing up. "Now it's our turn! Right, Akamaru?" The small dog poked his head out of his owner's shirt and barked in agreement. Kiba reached into his pocket and pulled out a pill; he gave it to Akamaru, who instantly swallowed it.

Temari watched in amazement as the small dog's fur began to change color; in seconds it had gone from pure white to deep red. Akamaru jumped out of Kiba's shirt and growled at the dragon. Kiba performed a series of hand signs. "Jyuujin Bushin!" he yelled as Akamaru transformed into him "Now the real fun starts. Gatsuuga!"

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Well, this ends chapter eleven! I know, it wasn't a very exciting chapter, but the battles will continue in the next one. Sorry this one took so long to get out, I had stuff to do. Also, I have some quick notes regarding the dragons. Each one has a name relating to their respective element: Kaji means fire, Rai means lightning, and Mizu means water. And, as a quick note about Rai's attack, I really have no idea if this is actually possible, with the electricity and the iron in the body. But, then again, this is my story, and if it's not possible, then it is now. Anyway, remember to review. Let's see if we can get to 100 reviews!

Ja ne!


	12. Elements

Yay! Not only did we make it to 100 reviews, we broke it with 107! Thank you all so much! And a special thanks to Kakashi-sensei for being my 100th reviewer; he reviewed anonymously, so I couldn't thank him by replying to it, so here you go! Oh, and here's the cookies I promised! -passes out cookies- Also, I went back and did some quick editing to chapter five; when writing it, I forgot that Gaara's 'Subaku Kyuu' is followed by 'Subaku Soso,' so that had been fixed.

Sorry for the late update; we've been having a lot of thunderstorms and my dad doesn't like me on the computer when they're going on.

And now, I present, _Unusual Encounter, _chapter 12!

**Disclaimer: **Well, after almost raping Hinata and practically drowning most of the characters, aren't you glad I don't own Naruto?

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Kankuro picked himself up from the ground, rubbing his throbbing head. _Well, that went well,_ he thought, thinking back to what had happened. At the last second, the two shinobi had managed to just barely dodge a direct hit from the dragon's blast; but they had been caught up in the explosion and sent flying in two different directions. Kankuro didn't know where the Konoha genin had landed, but since he didn't seem to be anywhere close by, he figured he was somewhere in the surrounding forest. 

Or rather, what was left of it. The blast had disintegrated most of the surrounding trees; those that were left standing were either on fire or permanently disfigured. Had Kankuro been an ordinary bystander and not a ninja, he would have most likely suffered the same fate as the plants around him.

Standing up, he brushed himself off, glancing at his surroundings. The only thing he knew about his opponent was that its element was fire; and, judging by the state of the forest, it obviously knew how to use it. Adjusting the puppet on his back, he began walking in the direction that he thought he had been before being blown away by the attack. It took him a moment to realize that something was missing.

The dragon.

_Shit._ Stopping in his tracks, Kankuro whacked himself in the head for forgetting about his opponent. He blamed the large bump on his head that he got when he hit the ground. _Alright, so where is the damn thing?_ As if to answer his unspoken question, there was a large explosion in the direction he had been walking. _The brat!_ The realization came to him as he began running.

The dragon had obviously gone after Shino.

----------

Hinata let out a soft scream as she was carried into the air by Rai, the dragon of thunder. It had caught her completely by surprise by sneaking up behind her, grabbing her in its large talons before she even noticed it was there. With her arms also caught within Rai's claws, the shinobi couldn't perform any hand signs for jutsus. She began struggling to free her arms from the dragon; she let out a startled cry as a bolt of electricity flowed through her veins.

"Don't even think about it, sweetie," Rai said, looking down with a large grin on her scaly face. "Unless you want to die by my electricity, that is. Besides, even if I were to let you go, you would only fall to your death. You're really in no position to be trying to escape, are you?" Hinata looked down to see that they were already high in the air; there was no doubt that if she were to fall, she would surly die.

Back on the ground, Gaara was watching the dragon's movements carefully. It had been surprisingly quick; so fast, in fact, that she had temporarily disappeared from his sight. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, the thing had grabbed Hinata and lifted her into the air. He cursed silently to himself when he heard the girl scream, electricity wrapping around her body. After a few seconds it was gone, but not fast enough to cause him to flinch as he watched.

The thing was, he didn't know what to do. The dragon had proved just moments ago that she was too quick to get hit by his hand, and he wasn't sure how to get Hinata down without hurting her. The only thing he could think of to get rid of the dragon was to make some kind of distraction, then entrap it in the sand and use his Subaku Soso to kill it; of course, this was out of the question, since he would inevitably kill Hinata as well.

Gaara briefly wondered why he was worried so much about saving the other shinobi. He had never cared about who he killed before; still, he found himself thinking that he had to save her, no matter what. In order to do that, however, he needed to think of a plan; and soon, for he never knew when another blast of electricity would come his way.

_Electricity…_Gaara thought back to the dragon's earlier explanation of her attack. _My attack was charged with tiny electric particles. Once they attach themselves to the iron, they adjust their makeup and make them ten times as heavier, causing the body to become heavier as well…So, if I were to direct the attack back at her, it would make her body heavier as well…_As he thought, a thin smile crept onto his face.

He had a plan.

----------

"Damn it, Kiba, why'd you have to go and make it mad?" Temari yelled as she and the Konoha genin ran across the sandy beach, dodging various blasts of water aimed at them. Temari was referring to Kiba's attempt at attacking the dragon; his Gatsuuga had hit, but had only put a scratch on some of Mizu's shiny scales. You would think that after living as long as he had, the dragon wouldn't care about a couple of scratched scales. Apparently he did, however, seeing as how he was chasing them along the beach while yelled, "You brat! How dare you do this to my lovely scales!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know he'd get this angry?" Kiba yelled back, jumping over a fallen tree branch. "The guy's a thousand years old; I thought my attack would do more than just scratch him!" He shot her a quick glance. "Besides, I don't see you doing anything!" This got him a rock thrown at his head.

"You idiot!" Temari shouted, another rock in hand. "I'm a little busy running from the damn thing because your attack was too weak to hurt it!"

"Shut up!"

The two were too busy arguing to notice that the dragon was no longer behind them, but had flown in front of them instead. Akamaru was paying attention, however, and gently bit Kiba's hand to get him to notice; he looked up just in time to see a huge blast of water in the shape of a snake coming towards them.

"Watch out!" He cried, pushing Temari out of the way and getting hit instead.

----------

Shino dodged yet another fiery attack from his opponent. He was trying to summon enough bugs to surround the red dragon, but had no luck so far; the thing was just too big for the bug-user to handle alone. Although he was certain that Kankuro wouldn't be having any better luck in the same situation. He doubted that the dragon would fit in the Sand shinobi's deadly puppet.

Still, he couldn't help but wish his companion was fighting with him. He was at somewhat of a disadvantage fighting the large dragon alone. He leapt from the few trees remaining to the ground, turning to face his opponent. Running wasn't getting him anywhere, and it was obvious that the dragon was faster than him. Besides, he didn't even know _where_ he was running; everything had been turned around when he had got caught in the first blast.

"Aw, is that it?" Kaji asked, a tone of disappointment in his voice. "That was hardly any fun at all. Sure, the chasing part was amusing, but you gave up so easily! Come on, run around some more! Please? At least until your friend gets here. He's much more entertaining than you are."

"No," Shino said, silently summoning a swarm of bugs. If he could keep the dragon's attention long enough, then…

"Ow!" Kaji said, turning around angrily; Shino saw a small needle poking out from the shiny scales, which seemed to be the source of the dragon's sudden pain. Behind him stood Kankuro, one of his puppets at his side. "Yo!" he said, running over to Shino.

"What the hell did you do to me?" The dragon said, trying – and not succeeding – to reach the needle with one of his small arms. Kankuro smirked. "That's one of my special poison needles. I'm not sure if it'll be deadly, like when it's used on humans, but I'm sure it'll still have some effect."

"You bastard!" Kaji said, lunging at them. Shino then let loose the army of bugs he had been gathering, and they formed a wall in front of him. "Come on," Shino said, turning to his fellow shinobi. "We should leave and think of a plan."

"Damn it, stop bossing me around!" Kankuro muttered, but followed anyway.

----------

Timing was everything.

In order for Gaara's plan to work, not only did his timing have to be right, but his opponent's as well. He was counting on the fact that the dragon would use its lightning attack again; but, knowing nothing of its power, he didn't know if there was some kind of limit to the amount of times it could attack. Of course, he was also hoping the thing wouldn't kill Hinata between now and then.

The dragon was only flying in circles, taking her sweet time before doing whatever she was going to do. Hinata glanced up. "W-what are you going to do with m-me?" she stammered, trying her best to be brave. Rai seemed to think for a moment. "I'm not sure yet," she said. "Eventually I'll kill you, I suppose, since that's what I was ordered to do. But it really wouldn't be any fun killing you right away. Besides, I want to give your friend a chance to fight back, however futile it may be."

_Gaara-kun,_ Hinata thought, looking down at the blob that was the Sand ninja. _I'm only causing him trouble again. It seems like that's all I ever do._ She felt pathetic. She had gotten herself captured not once, but twice in front of Gaara. Not only that, but it seemed that she couldn't even use her Byakugan correctly. _Byakugan…_

"Oh, your friend isn't doing anything," Rai said, disappointed at the lack of resistance from the shinobi. "I guess I'll just have to take care of him first." Hinata's head snapped up as the dragon began to gather electricity in her mouth for another attack. The kunoichi activated her Kekkei Genkai in hopes of finding some sort of weakness in the seemingly perfect attack. Her eye's widened; then the blast was let loose, headed straight for Gaara.

_Finally, _the Sand genin thought, quickly doing a number of hand signs and sticking his hand into the sandy beach. Once again, a wall of sand appeared in front of him, only much darker; instead of the normal dry sand, this had come straight from the water's bottom: mud. When the blast hit, it didn't break through the defense like it did the last time: it was absorbed. As soon as the last bit of electricity had been absorbed by the mud, Gaara gathered it up and sent it flying back at Rai. It all happened within a matter of seconds, and the dragon, which was suffering from a bit of recoil from her attack, couldn't move in time.

A lot happened in the next few moments. The ball of electrified mud hit her right in the stomach, making her gasp in pain. She was so startled by the sudden counterattack that her grip on Hinata loosened, and the small ninja was falling quickly towards the ground. Gaara, who was ready for this, had a soft blanket of sand waiting for her; she landed softly on the bed and was swiftly carried to the ground.

Hinata, just as shocked as Rai, looked shakily up at the towering Gaara. The Sand shinobi stared back for a moment before slowly reaching his hand out to the panting girl. Hinata managed a weak smile and took it; Gaara helped pull her up from the ground, and she was soon standing next to him.

Now, dragons are quite heavy. It's really quite surprising that they can fly without crashing to the ground. When hit with an attack that makes your body heavier, however, said dragon would most likely have a lot of trouble staying airborne. Such was the case for Rai. Having been hit by her own blast of electricity, the petit dragon could not remain in the air, and landed with a loud _THUD_ on the sand, panting slightly and glaring at the two shinobi.

"What the hell did you do?" she snarled, taking a threatening step forward. Hinata flinched, but was soon comforted by the fact that Gaara was still holding her hand. The Sand ninja, however, was unaffected. "Water conducts electricity," he explained. "With the sand covered in water, it was easily able to absorb your attack, which I then directed back at you. I'm sure even you know the rest."

Rai growled angrily. "You're both dead!"

----------

"Ow…" Temari sat up, rubbing her head. It took her a moment to realize what had happened. "Crap. Kiba?" She looked around only to find the Konoha genin lying on the ground, blood leaking from a large wound on his leg. "Kiba!" She shakily stood up and went over to him. Akamaru, who was whimpering worriedly, looked up at her as she walked over.

"Hey, Kiba!" Temari said, gently shaking him. Kiba groaned and slowly opened his eyes. "Oh, hey Temari," he said with a smile. "What's up?" He tried to sit up, but winced in pain. Akamaru whimpered again and nuzzled against his hand.

"You idiot!" Temari yelled. "You could have been killed! What were you thinking?" As she talked, she tore off a piece of fabric from her clothing and began wrapping it around his leg. Kiba smiled again. "I was thinking that I didn't want you to get hurt. Besides, you did the same thing earlier, didn't you?"

Temari turned slightly red. "Y-yeah, well, at least I didn't get my leg nearly blasted off!" She said, turning away so as not to let Kiba see her ever-reddening face. "There, done." She had finished wrapping his leg and was reaching her hand away when she felt something grab it. Looking down, she saw that Kiba had taken her hand in his. "Thanks," he said, sitting up.

"Aw, how it must be nice being so full of youth." They both looked up to see the dragon towering over them. "I'm afraid that I still must kill you, though. Like I said, those are my orders."

Temari stood up. "You said that earlier. Tell me: who does a mighty thousand-year-old dragon like you take orders from? It seems to me that you could go around and do whatever the hell you want." While talking, she reached to her side and grabbed her fan, opening it up and placing it in front of her.

"Ah, that I can not tell you," Mizu said, stretching. "I suppose you could say he's the one who…created me, for lack of a better word."

"Fascinating," Temari said, bringing her fan up. Behind her, Kiba struggled to stand. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked, Akamaru barking next to him. Temari shot him a quick glance. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm going to kick his ass." She smiled. "Just stay there and don't do anything stupid."

Just as she was ready to wave her fan, they heard a loud roar coming from the forest on the cliff above them. Looking up, they saw two shinobi running to the edge of it, a blur of red behind them.

* * *

And so, the plot thickens! Ok, not really, since this really wasn't an exciting chapter. Once again, I'm really sorry it took me so long to get out! -stabs weather- I also apologize for all the jumping around in this chapter. I guess it creates suspense or something. I think that I'll wrap up the battles in the next chapter, then reveal what's really going on with the dragons after that. Also, I know I've gotten a lot of reviews, but I'm not quite sure how long I should make this story. Any feedback on how long it should be is greatly appreciated! Do you think it should be nearing the end, or should I continue with something else? Please review and let me know! 

Ja ne!


	13. Defeat

I'm so sorry for the late update! I really have no excuse except that I wasn't in a writing mood. Gomen nasai!

**Disclaimer:** I own Naruto. Really. I do. -gets hit with multiple kunai- Or not…..

* * *

While running through the forest, Shino and Kankuro had somehow managed to reach a cliff; not the one their friends had fallen from, but a cliff nonetheless. This wasn't necessarily a good thing when you were being chased by a giant red dragon, however. The poison that Kankuro had injected into the large creature had quickly worn off, allowing them to only put some distance between them.

"Great going, Bug Boy!" Kankuro said, resuming their earlier argument. "I follow you and lead us to a damn cliff!" Shino glared at him from beneath his sunglasses. "Oh, and I suppose you knew where to go? Last I checked you were as lost as I am."

"Kankuro! Shino!"

Both of the shinobi ceased their arguing to look down the cliff, where they had heard their names being called. Down in the sand were none other than Temari and Kiba, a blue dragon behind them. It had been Temari who had called them; she was waving her giant fan wildly to get their attention. They watched as Kiba reached over and tapped her shoulder, causing her to turn around and look at the dragon, whose mouth was blowing blue. A moment later, a giant blast of water was shot in their direction. The two flung themselves to the ground, snuggling deep into the sand. The attack barely missed them as it sailed over their heads, hitting the rocks behind them.

_Water…_Shino thought, having an idea. He turned to Kankuro. "Come on," he said, pointing down the cliff. "I'll explain later." Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed Kankuro's arm and jumped off precipice, taking the Sand ninja with him. "What the hell are you doing?" Kankuro yelled, wondering if he had gone crazy. Shino didn't answer, but summoned a large number of bugs from his outstretched hand. Before they hit the ground, the bugs formed a kind of blanket for them to land on, and they remained unscathed.

"Geez, warn me before you do that!" Kankuro said, standing up and flicking a few stray bugs off him. Shino looked at him. "Whether you like it or not, we're teammates for this mission. Do you really think I'd try to kill you? Now, I have a plan." He leaned over and whispered his idea into Kankuro's ear, keeping one eye on the dragon that hovered above them.

---------

"Well, at least they're safe," Temari said, standing up from the sand. She shook her head to get the particles out of her hair. "Now we just need to figure out how to deal with Ugly over here." Kiba stood next to her, petting Akamaru, who was whimpering slightly. "Yeah, I'm open to any ideas."

"Yo, Temari!" The Sand kunoichi turned to see her brother running towards her, followed by Shino. "You idiot! Don't come over here! There's a dra…" she looked behind her only to see that their new friend was gone. "…gon." She looked back at her brother. "Never mind."

"Yeah, we know," Kankuro said. "You were fighting one of the dragons, right?" He gestured behind him, where both dragons were hovering above the cliff. "It appears to be consulting its friend on the best way to kill us. Damn bastards. But we have a plan to defeat them!" He then repeated what Shino had told them moments before.

Just as he finished, the two dragons came flying over from their perch above the cliff, creating a swirl of sand as they landed before them. The blue one spoke. "It seems that you've been causing some problems for my brother," he said, breathing a ring of smoke from his nostrils. "It appears we may have slightly underestimated you humans. But there is no way you will be able to defeat both of us at once, no matter how many of you there are!"

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Kiba retorted, giving a slight nod to his comrades. The four split up, each running in a different direction: Kankuro and Shino each ran towards one of the dragons, while Temari and Kiba ran away from them. Kankuro used his puppet to attack Mizu, while Shino used his bugs to fight Kaji. Neither of them had the proper techniques, however, and they were both easily knocked away.

"Gatsuuga!" Mizu looked up, startled to see two swirling cyclones coming violently towards him. "This again?" he snorted, bringing his large wings in front of him to block the attack. He wasn't prepared, however, for Kiba and Akamaru to dive beneath him and hit his unprotected belly. The dragon roared in pain as the two went back to join Temari, who stood quite a ways away from the battle.

"You bastard!" Mizu yelled. "You'll pay for that!" His mouth began to glow once again with energy, and soon sends yet another blast at the two. Temari was ready, however; she held her fan in front of her, awaiting the attack. "Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" she yelled as she hit the attack like she would a baseball. The force of the metal fan and the jutsu sent the attack right back, headed towards Kaji, who was currently too preoccupied with Kankuro to notice. The attack hit him square in the back, and after a quick howl, he collapsed in a heap on the ground.

"Kaji!" Mizu yelled, bending down over his fallen brother. He glared at Temari. "What the hell did you do?" Kiba, who was now standing beside her, answered instead. "He was the dragon of fire, right? Since your attack was made of water, it was especially effective when we directed it back at him." He grinned. "And now you're the only one left." He looked at Temari, signaling for her to start.

"Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai!" Temari yelled, thrusting her hand into the sand after biting her thumb. Moments later, she was standing on a large Kamaitachi, towering above her friends and eye-level with the dragon. She glanced down and saw that, while Shino appeared to be relatively unharmed, Kankuro had a large gash on his arm that was bleeding violently. It was her turn to glare at the dragon. "Sorry, but I think your fun is over. Kamatari!" She called to the creature she had just summoned, and it lunged at the dragon, pinning it to the ground. "Daikamaitachi no Jutsu!" Mizu couldn't move and was hit head-on with the attack; he instantly went limp, lying on the ground next to his brother.

"Thanks, Kamatari," she said as the creature vanished in a puff of smoke. She landed gracefully on the ground, then began running towards Kiba. She surprised everyone by flinging her arms around his neck. "We did it!" she squealed. Shino and Kankuro, who were walking over to them, stopped in their tracks and stared. "What the hell…?" Kankuro looked at the large smile on her face, and noticed how much like a little girl she looked just then. He smiled to himself, then remembered that there was still one more dragon out there, along with two of their companions.

----------

"I-I know the dragon's weakness."

Hinata and Gaara were running along the beach, dodging countless numbers of lightning bolts. Unlike before, where the attacks seemed to be planned and greatly powered up before being released, these came fast with only half the strength of the previous attacks. So fast, in fact, that Gaara didn't have time to put up a shield with mud as he had before. While being hit with one of these mini-blasts wouldn't do much damage, they were sure that they were still charged with Rai's special electricity that could make their bodies heavier, and didn't want to risk being hit; and so, they were running along the coastline, trying their best to avoid the attacks.

Gaara stared at the kunoichi, his mind registering her words. "You do?" He couldn't see how she could possible know such a thing when even he didn't. Hinata nodded. "I-I saw it with my Byakugan when it had c-captured me. I-It has chakra points inside, just like shinobi do. If I could get c-close enough, I could p-probably close them off so it can't use its technique."

Gaara continued to stare at her. He was skeptical as to how this would actually be possible, but from what he'd seen, Hinata wasn't one to boast about something she couldn't do. If she said she could close off the thing's chakra points, then he would just have to believe her. "Leave it to me," he said, gathering his sand around them as he ran. "I'll distract it while you get close. Don't worry; my sand will protect you." He couldn't believe what he was saying. He was actually offering to be the distraction while the girl did the fighting. It just…wasn't like him.

"B-but what about you, Gaara-kun?" Hinata asked, just as surprised at his offer as he was. "I-if you're using your sand to protect me, w-what will happen to you?" Gaara was…stunned, for lack of a better word. No one had ever been concerned about his well-being before, aside from his siblings. To hear the girl speak her concern aloud made him…happy. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that, for the first time in his life since Yashamaru had betrayed him, he felt pure happiness bubbling within him. He almost allowed himself to smile, but then remembered that they were in the midst of battle, and Hinata was still looking at him expectantly.

"I'll be fine," he said, noticing that the barrage of lightning bolts had stopped while Rai paused to rest for a moment. "Besides, now is the perfect opportunity to attack, while it's resting." Seeing her hesitation, he yelled, "Go!" This caused her to snap into action, and she began to run towards the dragon, hidden in a swirl of sand.

Gaara, meanwhile, had decided to take his part as the distraction seriously. Using a good portion of his remaining chakra, he gathered as much sand as he could to use as an attack. He stuck his hand to the ground, muttering "Sabaku Kyuu" as he did so. The sand rose up and grabbed all four of the dragon's feet, holding her in place. Rai growled angrily, and Gaara tensed as he saw her mouth light up for another attack.

"Juuken!" Hinata had now reached the dragon and thrust her hand, which was glowing slightly, onto the dragon's scales. She continued to hit the creature, inserting her chakra into its body and spreading it to the other chakra points throughout it. Slowly, the light from the impending blast began to dim as the flow of chakra to it was cut off.

Being caught in Gaara's sand, Rai couldn't do anything to stop the blows; nevertheless, she fought furiously against her restraints. At last she broke free, and swung violently at Hinata with her newly-freed back leg. The kunoichi was so intently focused on her relentless attack that she didn't see it coming, and was struck across the stomach with the dragon's large claws. She landed with a soft _THUD_ in the sand, holding her wound with one hand as she struggled to stand up.

The claws came at her again, and just as they were about to hit, they struck a wall of sand instead. Gaara stood in front of her, having created yet another shield to protect her. "Did you do it?" he asked after helping her to her feet. Hinata nodded. "Y-yes, I managed to seal off most of its chakra points. There are a f-few that I couldn't get to, but I-I think we should be alright."

"Good," he said, once again placing his hands in the sand. The stage was set: not only was the dragon considerably weaker, she could no longer fly due to the earlier attack that Gaara had sent back at her. Using the last of his chakra, he yelled, "Sabaku Taisō!" Ripples radiated through the sand as it began to create a hole in the ground around the dragon. The sand also began to fall into the hold, creating a type of waterfall around the dragon as she, too, began to sink. She clawed furiously at the sand, fighting to escape the sandy prison, but to no avail; soon, she was buried beneath the sand, with no hope of escaping.

Exhausted from fatigue and lack of chakra, Gaara did something he never thought he would do in front of someone – he collapsed. He began to fall forward into the sand when he was caught by Hinata. "Gaara-kun!" she said worriedly, tentatively taking his gourd off and rolling him onto his back. She received no response, but was reassured by the steady rise and fall of his chest. She smiled slightly as she sat down on the sand and placed his head on her lap. Without thinking, she reached down and brushed a stray hair out of his face. Her hand seemed to move on its own as it reached out and began to stroke his hair, her fingers weaving through the sand-filled strands. Caught up in the moment, she slowly bent down and placed a small kiss on his forehead, right next to the symbol for 'love'.

* * *

**Foot Notes:**

Kamaitachi no Jutsu – Cutting Whirlwind Technique

Kuchiyose: Kirikiri Mai – Summoning: Quick Beheading Dance

Kamaitachi – Sickle Weasel from Japanese folk tales

Daikamaitachi no Jutsu – Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique

Juuken – Gentle Fist

Sabaku Taisō – Desert Requiem

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Yes, I am aware of the fact that it is Neji and not Hinata who can use the Juuken. However, because she wasn't really doing anything during the rescue mission for Sasuke, I'm going to say that she learned it then. I'd also like to thank wikipedia, from which I got most of the information on Gaara's and Temari's attacks.

* * *

Alright, more OOCness in this chapter! But that just made for some fluff between both couples, ne? Once again, I'm extremely sorry about the delay of this chapter. Besides not feeling like writing, I also volunteered to write some Bleach episodes summaries for a website, and have to focus on that as well. It's only a few episodes, though, and shouldn't take up much of my writing time. So, as usual, review and tell me what you thought! Oh, and I still haven't figured out how long I should make it. Feedback is greatly appreciated.

Ja ne!


	14. Legend

Wow, I got 15 reviews last chapter! The previous record was thirteen for one chapter. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I'm sorry to say that this chapter isn't very exciting; but you do get to find out the legend behind the dragons.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto.

* * *

The first thing Gaara noticed when he woke up was that he was lying down, a concerned – and slightly red – Hinata looking down at him.

The second thing he noticed was that his head was on her lap.

Feeling a light blush creep onto his face, he quickly sat up; he instantly regretted it as he felt dizzy and began to sway slightly. Hinata instinctively reached out and gently grabbed his shoulders to steady him. "P-please be careful, Gaara-kun. Y-you're not fully recovered y-yet." She smiled. "B-but you were really amazing!" Gaara stared at her, confused. "I-I mean, the way you fought. It was r-really incredible."

Gaara continued to stare at her. "It used up all my chakra, though, so I can't protect you anymore." This statement surprised both of the shinobi; Gaara wasn't used to protecting someone, and Hinata hadn't expected him to protect her in the first place. Hinata bent her head down. "I-I'm sorry that I've been such a b-bother on this mission," she said softly. "I-It seems that all I ever do is c-cause trouble for people…"

"Idiot," Gaara muttered, standing up and reaching out his hand. "It's not like you cause trouble on purpose. Besides, as long as you try your best, that's good enough." Hinata stared at Gaara's outstretched hand for a moment before taking it, smiling brightly. "Thank you, Gaara-kun."

Gaara noticed something as she stood up. "You're bleeding." Sure enough, when she looked down, she saw that there was blood dripping from the wound she had gotten during the battle with Rai. "O-oh, I didn't even realize…"

"Take your jacket off."

Hinata looked at him. "Take it off so I can bandage your wound," Gaara explained, holding up a piece of fabric that he had ripped from his shirt. Hinata did as she was told as the Sand shinobi went to the water's edge and dipped the cloth in. He then began to wrap it around her stomach, causing Hinata to blush slightly from his touch. When he was done, the makeshift bandage was wrapped tightly – if not sloppily – around the wound. Hinata grabbed her jacket and was about to thank him when she heard something.

"Gaara! Hinata!"

The two turned, and saw their comrades running towards them. Aside from a large gash on Kankuro's arm, the four seemed to be unharmed. "I'm glad you're both alright," Kiba said. "Did you have to fight one of those things too?" Hinata nodded, and her teammate allowed his eyes to drift down towards her stomach. "Hinata! What happened?"

"I-it's fine, Kiba-kun," she answered, shooting a sideways glance at the Sand ninja beside her. "G-Gaara-kun fixed it for me." Gaara narrowed his eyes as he felt four other pairs focus on him. "Gaara did? Seriously?" Temari asked incredulously.

"Would you stop acting so surprised?" Gaara said, glaring at everyone but Hinata. "It's not like there was anyone else here to do it." He gave his sister a warning look when she opened her mouth, daring her to say something more; she shut it immediately and gave him a crooked smile instead.

"Yeah…Well, the one we were fighting kept saying something about having 'orders' to destroy us or something. I thought it was pretty weird that some thousand-year-old dragon would be taking orders from someone."

"That means that there's someone else behind the scenes that was controlling them," Shino said. "I suppose we should try to find out who, and why they did all this."

"I can tell you."

All six shinobi turned to see that Rai had somehow managed to free herself from her sandy tomb. They instantly took defensive stances, ready to fight. "Calm down," the purple dragon said, lying down on the sand. "That little brat sealed off all my chakra points, remember?" She motioned to Hinata. "I couldn't attack you if I wanted to."

"Why would you tell us anything?" Kankuro asked suspiciously. "Aren't you our enemy?"

"Judging by the fact that all of you are here together, I'm assuming that my brothers lost." Kankuro nodded. "Well then, I'm sure that they're dead by now, whether you killed them or not. I'll meet the same fate soon, so I might as well tell you whatever you need to know."

"Wait a minute," Temari interrupted, confused. "What do you mean, they're probably dead? We didn't kill them, just so you know. Is someone else behind this?"

"Yes," Rai answered, sighing. "Perhaps it would be easier if I started at the beginning. I'm sure you're all familiar with the legend revolving around us, correct?" They nodded. "Well, that story isn't completely true. Yes, we did protect the village now known as Rairyuu, and we did require one sacrifice once a year. But you can't really blame us; after all, we dragons needed to keep our strength up in order to protect the people.

"Things were going well. We had a peaceful contract with the village, and protected them from anyone wanting to arm it. One year, however, we didn't get our offering at the appointed time. Because the village hadn't kept up its end of the deal, we agreed not to do anything to protect it until they did their part. We didn't know that the town had indeed sent the offering as they always did; apparently, something happened to it along the way to the lake at which we dwelled. Needless to say, the village wasn't very happy that we weren't protecting them anymore.

"After a few days, rumors began spreading about how we had been seen with an enemy town, and that we were aiding them in the war that was going on at the time. Of course, this was not true, seeing as how we had been at the lake the whole time, waiting for the village to realize their mistake at not sending us the sacrifice. Somehow, the rumors found their way to us, and we began to wonder just what was going on; so we decided to go and see for ourselves.

"We found ourselves watching a battle that was raging between the two nations. When we arrived, we saw that a large red dragon was fighting with the enemies. At the time, the art of the ninja was only just being discovered, and was not practiced or even known among many people, so no one seemed to realize that it was a genjutsu and not a real dragon.

"Not wanting our name to be ruined, we prepared to join the fight and prove that the one the village was fighting was a fake. We weren't paying much attention to anything else, however, and soon found ourselves in another genjutsu; this one put us to sleep for over a thousand years."

"Wait," Kiba said as she paused in her story. "So you're saying that you've been asleep for a thousand years? How is that possible?"

"I do not know," Rai replied. "All I know is that we were awakened not too long ago after our thousand-year sleep. The one who woke us up was the ancestor of the one who cast the spell in the first place. He told us that everything had been a plot by the villagers from the start because they were tired of offering a sacrifice each year. We became angry, and planned to take our revenge on the village. However, when we saw how peaceful it had become, we hesitated. It was only after we heard the legend about us that we went back to the man and told him that we didn't want to carry through with the attack, and wanted to resume the peaceful lives we once lived.

"He didn't like what he heard, however. He told us that it was too late, and there were plenty of witnesses that had already seen us. Because of the legend, he said that the village carried a grudge against us, and had hired some shinobi from another nation to exterminate us; in other words, you. He told us to get rid of you; if not, he said he had the power to kill us, and would do so. To prove it, he used some kind of technique that wiped out a whole forest, and all the creatures in it. Because he was the ancestor of the one that had placed the curse on us in the first place, we didn't doubt his power. And, because the one who did the spell in the first place was a ninja, we hated all shinobi, and had no problem doing the deed."

"And so you fought us," Temari said, finishing the story. Rai nodded. "When we saw how young you were, we didn't want to do it; but we didn't want to be killed, either. He promised us that after we disposed of you, we could return to our peaceful lives, and wouldn't have to fight or kill anymore. But now I see that that's never going to happen."

"P-please tell us who did this to y-you!" Hinata said, speaking for the first time since the story began. "W-we'll beat him for you! No one should have to go through all that…"

"Hinata…" Kiba said softly, more to himself than the kunoichi. Rarely did he see her so worked up over something. He, too, felt some compassion towards the dragons, though he couldn't help but think that it was their own fault for needing sacrifices in the first place.

Rai smiled. "Thank you, dear. His name is Hiroshi, and he–" She stopped as her face twisted in pain, and she fell to the ground. "My, my, aren't we talkative today?" Looking up, the shinobi saw a man standing on the cliff above, his hand glowing blue; a sign that he had just used some kind of technique. His long black hair, which matched his eyes, blew wildly in the wind, as did his dark blue cloak. He grinned down at the four. "Well, I see my little pets failed to finish you off, eh?"

"Who the hell are you?" Kiba yelled up at him. "Why did you do that to her? She didn't do anything to you!" The man raised an eyebrow. "Oh, you haven't realized? I am Hiroshi, the one who 'revived' the three dragons of legend."

"So you're the bastard that was manipulating them to do your dirty work," Temari said, taking out her fan. "Just a coward, hiding in the shadows." She glared at him. "I hate scum like you! Kamaitachi no Jutsu!" She created a giant whirlwind mixed with chakra that headed straight for Hiroshi; the man's grin only widened as he jumped off the cliff, performing a series of hand signs as he fell towards the sand. A cluster of flower petals appeared beneath him, and he landed gently on the ground.

"So, how did you like my Flower Cluster Jutsu?" he asked, bending down and picking up a petal, twirling it between his fingers. "They're so beautiful, aren't they? But they can be deadly if used right." He shifted his gaze to Temari. "That was very rude of you, my dear; just attacking me like that. I should pay you back." Performing more hand signs, he thrust his hand into the sand; suddenly, a collection of more petals sprung up from the ground, swirling around the Sand kunoichi. "Barrage of Flowers!" Before she could react, they all stopped and flew at her, revealing that they had very sharp edges. She quickly raised her fan and placed it in front of her to block some of them, but got hit with multiple petals in her back and on her sides. Screaming in pain, she collapsed on the ground, blood trickling from her various wounds.

"Temari!" Kiba yelled, bending down next to her; her eyes were squeezed shut in pain, and small moans escaped her lips. Kiba looked up at their companions. "You guys deal with that guy; I'll take care of her," he said. Akamaru, who had jumped out of his owner's shirt and was licking Temari's hand, barked in agreement. As the others nodded and ran towards their new opponent, Kiba shrugged his jacket off and placed it over her.

"I guess you want to die," Gaara said, taking the cork from his gourd, letting the sand spill out. Although he would never admit it, he had become somewhat protective of his siblings, and vowed to kill anyone who hurt them. He sent his sand flying towards Hiroshi, but it wasn't until he heard Hinata call out to him did he remember that he had used up all his chakra earlier. Hiroshi easily blocked the sand by creating a shield of flowers before sending another barrage of the deadly petals towards Gaara. The Sand shinobi created a wall of sand in front of him, but the petals surprised him by turning in midair, heading for his unprotected back; impact was inevitable.

As he was bracing himself to be hit, he saw a flash of gray jump in front of him; a moment later, Hinata screamed.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

You may be confused as to why Hiroshi's attacks are in English, while the others' are in Japanese. Part of it is because I'm not at all comfortable with my translating skills, and I'm not sure if I could give you a decent translation of them into Japanese. The other part is so you can know what I'm talking about; since his attacks obviously aren't in the anime, seeing as he's an OC, and I'm sure a lot of you wouldn't know what I'm talking about even if I did translate them.

* * *

Fear the OCCness! Hehe, there seems to be a lot of that lately. I'll apologize now for the cliffhanger, and hope you won't flame me too bad. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but reviews make me want to update faster. -hint hint- Thanks for reading!

Ja ne!


	15. Chakra

I really need to get better at this whole updating thing, don't I? Especially after the cliffhanger I left last chapter. -laughs nervously- Anyway, here's the long awaited fifteenth chapter! Wow, we're already that far? Maybe I should take this time to thank each and every reviewer-

Gaara: I _will_ kill you if you don't shut up.

Yeah, I'll just get to the disclaimer now…

**Disclaimer:** I have my own Hidden Leaf headband, but I don't think that makes me the owner of Naruto.

* * *

Gaara's eyes widened as he saw blood splatter to the ground; blood that was not his. His mind was having trouble figuring out what had happened when the figure in front of him began to sway unsteadily. Instinctively, he reached out and caught her as she began to fall, holding her protectively in his arms. A small part of his mind told him that it was Hinata that he was slowly lowering to the ground, and that it was her blood that had been shed instead of his own.

"You idiot," he said softly, holding the small kunoichi tightly. "What did you do that for?" Not expecting an answer, he was surprised when Hinata opened her eyes and spoke. "B-because, you've been p-protecting me so much," she whispered with a smile as she tried to sit up. "A-and it's not like I got hurt t-too badly. Your sand deflected most of them."

Gaara reluctantly released her from his grip as she got on her knees and sat beside him. A moment later, Kankuro and Shino were next to them as well, making sure she was alright. Hinata smiled and thanked them for their concern as Shino helped her to stand, and they once again stood facing Hiroshi.

"Well, for a bunch of puny genin, you're not half bad," the flower-user said with a grin. "Still, you're no match for me. But, if you give up now, I'll make sure you all get a quick and painless death."

"No thanks," Kankuro snorted, glaring at the man. "Like we'd ever lose to the likes of you. But tell me something before we kick your ass: why did you awaken the dragons in the first place?"

"Why?" Hiroshi sounded amused. "What do you mean, why? There were sleeping for a thousand years. It only makes sense that I, being the ancestor of the one who put them to sleep, should be the one to revive them, don't you think?"

"I don't buy it," Kankuro said. "There has to be some other reason. If you really wanted to bring them back because it was your duty or something, then you wouldn't have threatened to kill them if they didn't do as you said."

"Ah, point taken," Hiroshi said, summoning more petals. "After my ancestor put the spell on the dragons, he joined up with the enemy village that was attacking Rairyuu. That was his plan from the start; he only wanted to get rid of the dragons so that nothing would be in his way. But he was killed in the battle, and the damn village somehow survived. So I want to destroy the village, just like he wanted!" His smile widened. "Now, who wants to die first?"

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Kiba was doing his best to bandage up Temari, who was bleeding in several places because of Hiroshi's attack. The Sand ninja had moaned several while he was dressing her wounds, but had yet to wake up. "Damn that bastard," he muttered as he tightly wrapped a piece of his badly-ripped shirt around her arm. Akamaru, who was licking her hand worriedly, suddenly jumped back, startled; the hand he had been licking had suddenly moved.

"Temari?" Kiba asked hopefully, leaning over her. Temari's eyelids flickered, then opened. Groaning slightly, she tried to sit up before falling onto her back again. "Ow…" she mumbled, her fingers digging into the sand. Her wounds hurt a lot more than she expected them too; after all, they were caused by flowers.

"Kiba…" she muttered, realizing for the first time that he was there. "Where's…that guy…?" She tried to get up again, but was stopped when the Leaf genin gently put his hands on her shoulders. "Don't move just yet," he said soothingly. "The others are fighting him."

"Why…didn't you go with them?" Temari asked, blushing slightly. Her face reddened even more when she noticed that Kiba's jacket was on top of her. Kiba turned away, not wanting her to see the blush creeping up his own face. "W-well, someone had to take care of you, a-and I just happened to be closest at the time, and Akamaru was worried about you and…" he was rambling off random reasons for why he had stayed behind, none of them really making that much sense. Temari smiled.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," she said, gently taking his hand from her shoulder and sitting up so she was eyelevel with him. "Thanks."

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"Alright, what should we do?" Kankuro asked. Hiroshi had kindly decided to let them consult on who wanted to die first, and they were taking the opportunity to form a plan. Or at least they were trying too; so far, no one had come up with anything.

"Well, Hinata is hurt, so she shouldn't fight," Shino started, but was interrupted by the kunoichi herself. "N-no!" she said, shaking her head. "I-I'm fine, really! I d-don't want to be a burden to anyone!"

"Let her fight," Gaara said, his arms folded across his chest. "We'll just have to keep an eye on her, that's all." Kankuro stared at him. _Since when did he actually offer an opinion about anything?_ He wondered, scratching his head confusedly. _Weird…_

"Alright," Shino agreed hesitantly. "But we still need a plan. What have we got to work with?"

"My puppet, your bugs, Gaara's sand, and Hinata's Byakugan," Kankuro said. After a moment, he added, "We're screwed."

"D-don't say that, Kankuro-kun!" Hinata said. "W-we can find a way to beat him! I k-know we can!" All three stared at her for a moment before Shino spoke. "Hinata is right. We can't give up yet. Gaara, how much chakra do you have left?" Gaara thought a moment. "I suppose I have enough to use my Subaku Soso once," he answered, reluctant to admit that he couldn't do anything besides the one attack.

"Alright, we'll have to make it so that Gaara's attack won't miss," Kankuro said. "Bug Boy, I'll need you to draw his attention with those creepy insects of yours. While he's occupied with that, I'll try to poison him with Karasu." He placed a hand on the large puppet on his back; for this mission, he had only brought the one, leaving Kuroari behind. The Sand shinobi turned to look at Shino. "That alright with you?" After a quick glare, the genin nodded.

"Good," Kankuro continued, turning to the other two. "Hinata, you stay with Gaara. Not only are you hurt, but your Byakugan will be handy in case our part of the plan fails and he heads for you. With Gaara's limited amount of chakra, we can't risk him having to use if before we know for sure if it'll work." Hinata nodded, while Gaara just said his traditional "Hn" before turning away. He hated being told what to do, but at this point he couldn't really complain.

"Are you kiddies ready yet?" Hiroshi called, sounding impatient. "I really do have other matters to attend to, so I'd like to make this quick." He clapped his hands together excitedly as he got an idea. "I know! Why don't you all attack me at once? That way you'll all die together."

"I have a better idea," Kankuro said, stepping forward and taking Karasu off his back. "How about we do things _our _way, and you shut up and die?" He gave a swift nod to Shino, who rushed forward with his bugs swarming around him. He reached his arm out, signaling for them to attack. _With any luck they'll be able to drain a little bit of his chakra, _he thought as he quietly watched his friends fly towards what was sure to be their death. He gave them a silent apology, knowing that their sacrifice must be made for their plan to work.

"Interesting," Hiroshi muttered, gracefully holding out the flower petal in his hand as he would a sword. "I've heard of a clan from Konoha with a Kekkei Genkai involving bugs, but this is the first time I've actually seen it." The mysterious shinobi muttered, "Flower Growth Jutsu," which caused the petal to grow three times its original size. He expertly brought it down upon the swarm of bugs, killing them instantly. With swift ballet-like movements, he moved in a circle, also defeating those who decided to attack from behind. Only a few managed to land on him, and were only able to drain a tiny bit of chakra before being noticed.

Meanwhile, Kankuro was sneaking up from the side, puppet in hand. With any luck, he would be able to get relatively close before being noticed, and would have a better chance of his poison attack reaching its target. The bugs were defeated quicker than he had thought, however, and as Hiroshi calmly lowered the petal to his side, he looked right at the Sand ninja, freezing him in his tracks. Narrowing his eyes, the man ran at him with lightning-fast speed; soon he stood in front of Kankuro, his flower-sword piercing through his stomach.

"Kankuro-kun!" Hinata cried, her eyes open wide. Beside her, Gaara only smirked. "Relax and watch," he said, causing the kunoichi to look at him as if he were insane. "B-but Gaara-kun, h-he just…" She stopped when she noticed something strange about Kankuro. Despite just being impaled through the stomach, he hadn't even flinched, and no blood was spilling from the wound. Confused, Hiroshi's smile quickly faded as he stepped back, pulling his weapon from the ninja's body.

Kankuro began to twitch uncontrollably, his body moving in strange ways. A moment later he looked up to reveal that he wasn't Kankuro at all; it was Karasu, the Sand ninja's puppet. The real Sand ninja emerged from the bundle that had fallen on the ground while holding the handles of the puppet in his hands. Before Hiroshi could react, Karasu's mouth opened, and a poisoned dart shot out and embedded itself in the shinobi's arm.

"What the hell is this?" Hiroshi said angrily, hastily pulling the object from his arm and tossing it to the sand. "You'll pay for that, you little brat!" He lashed out wildly with his flower-sword, leaving deep gashes in Kankuro's arms and back as he grabbed his puppet and ran across the beach towards his friends.

For the first time, Hiroshi noticed that only two of the four genin were attacking him. _The other one must have stayed behind to protect the girl because she's hurt,_ he thought, a small smile spreading over his face as his eyes traveled over to the two. Stuck with a newfound confidence, he began to run in the same direction that Kankuro had. With his unnatural speed, however, he was easily able to pass the Sand shinobi and was quickly approaching the remaining two.

Hinata stood with her Byakugan activated as they waited for Hiroshi's arrival. "I-I'll distract him while you get your sand ready, Gaara-kun," she said, getting into her fighting stance. Gaara silently agreed, preparing for his one and only attack. A little ways away, Kankuro and Shino were watching intently, hoping that their plan would work. _You only have one shot, Gaara,_ Kankuro thought, knowing that the same thing had crossed everyone's mind.

As Hiroshi ran, he noticed that his speed was steadily decreasing, no doubt from the poison that was now spreading through his veins. _I'd better make this quick,_ he though, gripping his weapon tightly. Due to the fact that his Flower Cluster Jutsu used up a lot of chakra, he decided that he wouldn't use it unless he had to, especially because there were six shinobi that he had to kill.

Hinata closed her eyes briefly before opening them and running towards her opponent with her outstretched palm facing towards him, ready to use the Juuken. Noticing this, Hiroshi stopped running and waited for her, slashing her left arm when she was near. Ignoring the blood that now trickled down her arm, Hinata slammed her hand into Hiroshi's stomach, getting two or three strikes in before the weapon connected with her side, knocking her down into the sand.

"I'll finish you first," Hiroshi growled, raising his weapon above her. Hinata tried to stand, but all the wounds that she had received were starting to take their toll, and she only managed to rise to her knees. She looked up at him, her Byakugan deactivated.

"Sabaku Kyuu!" Both of them turned to see Gaara standing with his hand outstretched; sand began to surround Hiroshi, beginning his final attack. "What the…?" The evil man began, but was cut off as the sand completely engulfed him. "Sabaku Soso!" Gaara muttered, clutching his hand into a fist to finish it. Hinata squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see the blood she knew would follow.

But none did.

The sand slowly retracted, revealing a swirl of flowers instead of the ninja's body. The petals disappeared to show that Hiroshi was indeed alive, though blood was dripping down both his arms. "W-what?" Hinata stammered; she had no idea how he could have managed to protect himself with the flowers in such a short amount of time. Evidently, he somehow had, managing to escape from the attack with only his arms, which he could not fully protect in time, injured.

"I'm through playing around," he snarled, glaring down at the unprotected Hinata. "You're all going to die, here and now!" He bent down and picked up his fallen weapon, once again holding it above the kunoichi. "Die!" He yelled; but the weapon hit sand instead of flesh. With the last of his chakra, Gaara managed to create another wall of sand to block the attack. He quickly ran over and grabbed Hinata's arm, forcing her to her feet and gently pulling her across the sand. They only ran so far before Hinata collapsed, unable to go any further.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, breathing heavily. Gaara cursed silently; they were running out of options. Hiroshi began to walk towards them, his eyes glowing insanely. "There's nowhere to run, kiddies," he said, swaying slowly as the poison began to take its full effect. He was stopped, however, as a large purple object came towards him, sending him flying across the beach. Had his mind been working properly, he would have recognized it as a dragon's tail.

"Rai-san!" Hinata said happily when she saw the dragon staggering towards them. "You're alright!" Rai managed a small smile. "I may be alive, sweetie, but I'm far from alright." She sent a quick look to Hiroshi, who was already stumbling to his feet. "We don't have much time. Boy, I want you to have the rest of my chakra." This last part was directed at Gaara. Hinata was confused. Hadn't she sealed off all of the dragon's chakra points? Seeing her confusion, Rai explained. "You did manage to seal most of my chakra points, but not all of them. I may not have much chakra left, but there's probably enough for him to do that attack one more time."

"B-but how to we transfer chakra?" Hinata asked. She had never even heard of such a think, let alone think it was possible. Kankuro had a solution to this problem, however. "We can use the strings that I use to control my puppet," he said, coming up behind them. "They already have chakra in them, so they'll be the perfect conductors."

"That should work," Rai said nodding. Kankuro hastily detached the strings from Karasu and gave one end to the dragon and Gaara. "Are you sure this will work?" Gaara asked, staring at the seemingly ordinary string that he held in his hand. Rai nodded, then closed her eyes and focused. The string began to glow with chakra, and Gaara felt it entering his body. A moment later, the glow faded, the transfer complete.

"Well?" Kankuro asked, staring intently at his brother. Gaara shook his head. "It worked, but there's not enough for me to use Sabaku Soso again. Rai, having no more chakra left, let the string drop from her mouth, seeing no point in keeping it. Hinata caught it as it fell, holding it tightly. "L-let me try!" she said, causing everyone to stare at her. "I-I'll give Gaara-kun some of my chakra, too. Kankuro-kun, you and Shino-kun have already fought so hard and used your own chakra, so now it's my turn!" Without waiting for an answer, she closed her eyes and concentrated only on giving her chakra to Gaara. The string began to glow once again, and Gaara felt the kunoichi's warm chakra flowing through his body.

When she felt that she had given him enough chakra, Hinata opened her eyes and swayed unsteadily, dropping the string as she began to fall forward. Gaara, who was standing in front of her, reached out and grabbed her. "D-did it work?" she asked softly as she was slowly lowered to the ground. Gaara nodded, turning to his brother. "Kankuro, stay here," he commanded, standing up to face the approaching Hiroshi.

"So what?" Hiroshi said, still clutching his flower-sword. "I'll just kill you all before you even have a chance to use that technique again! Flower Cluster Jutsu!" He began to laugh crazily, waiting for the familiar feeling of his chakra leaving his outstretched fingers and enter the flowers that surrounded him.

Nothing happened.

"What is this?" he said, looking down at his hands. "Flower Cluster Jutsu! _Flower Cluster Jutsu!_" Still nothing happened, and he fell to his knees; Hinata's earlier attack had managed to seal off enough chakra points that, with his already low supply of chakra from his earlier attacks, he didn't have enough to perform the technique.

"Sabaku Kyuu!" Hiroshi felt the sand once again begin to swallow him, and he looked around frantically. "No! Please stop! I-I promise I'll never do something like this again! Please!" Gaara stood in front of him, no emotion present on his face. "Face it: you're going to die here. Sabaku Soso." He once again closed his hand into a fist, and welcomed the familiar sight of red spilling from the sand coffin.

"Y-you did it, Gaara-kun!" Hinata, who was sitting on her knees in the sand, said happily. She looked up to Rai, who was now lying down on the sand, her eyes barely open. "T-thank you so much, Rai-san. We couldn't have done it without you!" Rai closed her eyes and gave a small smile.

"No, thank you, child," she said, leaning her head down on the sand. "Because of you, I was freed from that bastard's spell, and I have the joy of knowing that I didn't die by his hands." Hinata's face became filled with worry. "R-Rai-san, please hold on! W-we have medical shinobi that we can send to heal you!"

Rai slowly shook her head. "Thank you dear, but this is fine. After all these years, it's finally time for me to go. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you." She closed her eyes and whispered, "Thank you," before passing on.

* * *

**Author's notes:**

I really have no idea if transferring chakra is possible. I know that the medical shinobi do it when they heal, but this is pretty different. In any case, if it wasn't possible, then it is now.

* * *

Wow, that chapter was surprisingly depressing at the end. Still, this is definitely the longest chapter thus far, and I'm pretty proud of how it turned out. I think this story with be coming to an end soon, mostly because I'm running out of ideas. That's partly why this chapter took so long to get out; I couldn't think of how to defeat Hiroshi. As always, please review and let me know how I did.

Ja ne!


	16. Festival

Welcome to the last chapter! I know it's kind of sudden, but with school starting again in a few days, I don't know if I'd have time to update as often as I should, so I'm ending it here. I'm also terribly sorry for the delay; I've been having a bit of writer's block. I apologize for the major OOCness of the characters as well. Don't worry; this chapter is especially long, so you still have stuff to look forward to! Actually, I may have overdone it on the length…

I can't believe how successful this story has been, especially since, when I started, I was still pretty new to the fanfiction world. It's certainly been a roller coaster of sorts, hasn't it? We went from psychotic perverts, to a brand new pairing, to the legend of the dragons; and so many people have stuck with me through it all. I'd just like to thank everyone who's not only reviewed, but just read this story to the end. To those of you who did review, whether with advice or just encouragement, I can't thank you enough. There's nothing better for a writer than knowing that people read and like their work. Thank you all so much. I suppose the only thing I can ask for at this point is to reach 200 reviews, but even if I don't, this has been an amazing experience, and I look forward to writing more Naruto stories in the future.

Also, as a quick note, Aoi means blue, Midori means green, and Aku means red. It'll make sense as you read.

And now, I present the final chapter of _Unusual Encounter._

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Hinata, Gaara, or anything else associated with Naruto.

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"Rai-san…" Hinata whispered softly, tears welling up in her eyes. She never had been good at handling death, even of those who weren't human. She was barely aware of someone tending to her wounds; she would later realize that it was Shino. Each time the kunoichi blinked the tears would roll down her cheeks, leaving small, almost-invisible trails behind them.

Nearby, Kankuro was attempting to help his brother but wasn't having much luck. Being the stubborn shinobi that he was, Gaara refused to accept help from anyone, even when he clearly needed it. Hinata, who was finally beginning to come to her senses, looked over to see what all the fuss was about. Gaara stopped when he saw the girl's tears; it was something he wasn't used to seeing. "P-please Gaara-kun, l-let Kankuro-kun h-heal you," she whispered, stuttering more than usual because of her constant sniffling. The Sand shinobi complied, sitting down on the sand to let his brother tend to him.

"It looks like all the fighting's over," Temari commented as she and Kiba watched from their spot on the beach. Her wounds had stopped bleeding, and she sat next to Kiba on the sand. She had insisted that they go and help their friends once she was all bandaged up, but the Leaf genin had protested, telling her to rest and that he would fight instead. As he was about to run to join the battle, however, Temari had grabbed his hand and, with a flustered face, asked him to stay.

Temari never let go of his hand. Even as he sat down beside her she kept it firm in her grasp. It was like the day when the two had sat on the hills of Konoha and watched the sunset, only this time they weren't watching for enjoyment. At first, Kiba had just let his hand lie limply in hers, but soon he relaxed and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Temari's face reddened as she leaned her head on his shoulder; her eyes widened in surprise when she felt his head on hers. And there they sat for the remainder of the battle, with their fingers intertwined and Temari's head snuggled into Kiba's neck.

At one point, when Hinata intercepted Hiroshi's attack, Kiba's grip on her hand tightened. "You should go to her," Temari said softly. Kiba could have sworn that there was a hint of sadness in her voice. He shook his head. "If I went, who would stay here and protect you?"

"I don't need protecting," Temari said defensively; still, she hadn't moved from her original position. Kiba laughed. "I know. But what other excuse do I have to stay?" Temari smiled and nuzzled deeper into his neck. "I guess I'm not a good enough excuse, huh?" she replied teasingly. They hadn't said anything more for the rest of the battle; the silence between them was only broken when the kunoichi commented on the end of the fight.

"I suppose we should go make sure everyone's alright," Kiba said with a sigh. Temari agreed, and the two stood up and began to head over to their friends. Kiba had his arm wrapped around her shoulders, saying with a red face that it was only to help keep her steady as they walked.

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"Gaara-kun?"

The Sand ninja looked up from his seat on the beach to see Hinata standing next to him. To his relief, she had stopped crying, though a few stray tears still lingered in her eyes. She silently sat down beside her, placing her hands in her lap as she stared out at the sea. It seemed so long since they had been struggling against the raging currents, even though it had only been a few hours. A calm silence fell over the two as Gaara waited for the girl to speak. When she did, however, it was far from what he was expecting.

"Gaara-kun, do you think you could bury her?" Seeing his confused face, Hinata continued. "Rai-san, I mean. She…we couldn't have defeated him without her help. She may have been our enemy, but it wasn't her fault, or her siblings' either. It seems like a burial is the least we could do, and I thought you could do it with your sand." She looked forward with a determined look on her face, never stuttering, never faulting.

"Sure," Gaara said, rising to his feet. His sand wasn't usually used to bury a dragon, but this once he would make an exception. "But there's one condition." Confused, Hinata looked up at him. "You can't cry anymore. What happened, happened; crying won't do anything to help it. What you can do is move forward and not dwell on the past. She wouldn't want you to." If there was anything Gaara could relate to, it was having painful experiences and learning to put them behind him.

Hinata wiped away the last of her tears before standing beside him. "You're right," she said with a smile. "Thanks, Gaara-kun." The Sand ninja nodded before heading towards Rai, removing the cork from his gourd as he walked. "Stand back," he said to Hinata, who had followed him. He placed his hands in the sand and muttered, "Subaku Taisō." The sand beneath the dragon began to collapse, and soon she was buried deep beneath the surface. "Thank you, Rai-san," Hinata whispered before turning to Gaara. "And thank you too, Gaara-kun. Not just for this, but for protecting me all this time." She leaned over and, standing on her toes, planted a small kiss on his cheek.

----------

The journey back to Konoha was a quiet one.

Temari and Kiba were walking side by side and would talk to each other occasionally, but no one else said a word. Gaara was walking ahead of everyone, while Hinata was in the back; they seemed to be putting as much distance between them as possible. After Hinata's brave show of gratitude towards the Sand shinobi, which no one else had seen, Kankuro came up to them to let them know that Kiba and Temari were both safe, and that they should head back to the Village Hidden in the Leaves for proper treatment for their wounds. The two had instantly agreed, both slightly red, and had followed their companions without a word.

"Geez, this is like a funeral march," Kankuro commented to the trees, not really intending for anyone else to hear. Behind him, however, Shino nodded. "Everyone appears to be extremely tense," he said, stealing a glance towards Hinata, who was behind him. She was walking with her head down, as if the ground were the most interesting thing to look at.

"I suppose we can just blame it on everything that's happened," Kankuro replied. "Besides, we're almost there. We can ditch them after we report to the Hokage." Though Shino didn't entirely agree with that plan, he had to admit that this wasn't the best group he'd ever been in; at least at the moment. They soon arrived at the village and began to make their way towards Tsunade's office. They were interrupted, however, by a certain annoying ninja.

"Hey, Hinata! You're back!" Naruto yelled, running up to her. The kunoichi was surprised, to say the least. "N-Naruto-kun, w-what are you doing here?" She asked, noticing that she wasn't stuttering as much as normal; her heart wasn't doing flip-flops in his presence, either.

Naruto grinned. "It seems like _everyone's_ been on missions lately except for me, and I'm really bored! So when I asked Tsunade-baa-chan if there was anyone left for me to train with, she said that your group would be back soon, and I decided to wait for you. So come on! Let's go!" He reached out and grabbed Hinata's hand, pulling her along behind him.

Gaara's eyes narrowed as he glared at the blond-haired boy, resisting the urge to strangle him with his sand. He realized that after they had battled, he thought of Naruto as almost a friend; or at least the closest thing he'd ever had. Still, at that moment, he felt angry at the boy for getting so close to Hinata, and worse, _touching _her. He unconsciously clenched his hand into a fist, narrowing his eyes even more.

"W-wait, Naruto-kun!" Hinata called, wriggling free of his grasp. "I-I can't train with you right now. W-we just got back, a-and we have to report to Tsunade-sama. I would also like to r-rest a bit before doing anything. I-I'm sorry." Naruto looked disappointed. "Oh, ok. I forgot that you just got back from your mission. Some other time, alright?" Without waiting for an answer he ran off, hoping to find someone else to train with.

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't think I've ever seen you turn down Naruto before," he said with a smirk. Hinata turned slightly red. "W-we really should be g-going now," she said as she began to walk again. "W-we can't keep Tsunade-sama w-waiting." Kiba smirked as he saw Hinata cast a quick look behind her at Gaara, causing Temari to look at him strangely.

----------

"I see…so that's what really happened," Tsunade said, her elbows resting on her desk. She had been writing down the main details of the genins' mission report on a piece of paper, but stopped when they got to sad tale of the dragons. The Hokage let out a soft sigh. "I never dreamed that they would actually be real; I figured they were some kind of genjutsu or something or the sort." She looked towards the three Sand shinobi. "It seems as though I've put you through quite a bit of trouble these past few days, haven't I? If you like, you can rest up here in Konoha for a day or two before you begin your trip back to your village."

Hinata felt her heart tighten. During all the time they had spent together, she had forgotten about Gaara and his siblings returning to the Village Hidden in the Sand. _After everything that's happened…does he really have to go?_ She wondered, clutching her hand tightly in front of her. Beside her, Kiba was wondering the same thing about Temari.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Temari said, feeling quite sad herself. "We'll gladly take you up on that offer." All six genin bowed as they left Tsunade's office, trying to think of somewhere the Sand shinobi could stay.

"Temari and I will go check out some of the inns," Kiba suggested. He looked at Hinata and smiled to himself. "Shino, why don't you take Kankuro and show him around the village? Hinata can do the same for Gaara." Before Shino or Kankuro could complain about having to be stuck together again, Kiba sent him a quick glare that said, "Shut up and do what I tell you." Shino just nodded before looking at Kankuro. "Let's go," he said before walking off, leaving behind a very confused Kankuro. The Sand shinobi just shrugged and followed.

"Well, Temari and I are off! Have fun, you two!" Kiba said, winking at Hinata before leaving with Temari, laughing silently to himself. _You'll thank me for this eventually, Hinata,_ he thought as they rounded a corner and disappeared out of sight.

"W-well, shall we g-go, Gaara-kun?" Hinata asked, twiddling her fingers together nervously; it was the first thing either of them had said since Rai's burial. Gaara only nodded, muttering his traditional 'Hn' before following the kunoichi, who had already started walking ahead.

----------

"You sure seem amused about something," Temari commented as she and Kiba looked for an inn with an available room. Their search wasn't very successful, however, since the annual Konoha festival was to be held in the upcoming weeks, and most of the rooms were already booked.

Kiba turned to look at her. "What, don't tell me you haven't noticed!" Temari's blank look told him she hadn't. "I think Hinata has a crush on Gaara." The Sand kunoichi stopped in her tracks, a very strange look on her face; then she burst out laughing. "You can not be serious!" she said between giggles. Kiba had to smile. "Actually, I am; though I have no clue why."

Temari stopped laughing and began to think. "Now that you mention it, they were alone during that last mission, weren't they?" She placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully, then smirked. "Wait, we were alone too, weren't we? I guess I shouldn't really be saying anything." Kiba laughed, and Temari decided to change the subject. "So, what's this festival all about?" she asked as they resumed their search.

"Well, it's basically a celebration where all the allied nations get together," Kiba explained. "The same villages that come here for the Chuunin Exam are invited. There are games, food, and a bunch of other stuff." He shot Temari and sideways glance. "You know, since the Village Hidden in the Sand is allied with Konoha, I'm sure Tsunade-sama wouldn't object to you going with me."

"Are you asking me to the festival?" Temari asked, blushing slightly as she looked at the Inuzuka expectantly. Scratching his neck awkwardly, Kiba nodded. The Sand kunoichi smiled before walking over and taking his hand. "I'd love to go."

----------

Gaara and Hinata walked in silence.

It wasn't until Hinata looked up from her feet that she noticed she had managed to lead the Sand shinobi to a park; the same park that she had offered to take sand out of his hair. Glancing at Gaara, she wondered if he remembered. "Um, G-Gaara-kun, would you like to s-sit down and rest for a b-bit?" she asked, noticing that it was quite warm out, and the shade of a large oak tree looked very inviting. Gaara nodded, and the two went and sat down beneath the large branches.

They sat in silence for quite some time, each lost in their own thoughts. A light breeze was blowing, causing the shadow of the tree to shift positions now and then. As she gradually became exposed to the sun, Hinata took off her tan jacket and sat it down on the grass beside her, which she almost never did; she had always been next to invisible before she became a genin, and would rely on the jacket as some kind of protection against being hurt, as a thing to hide herself in. But now, she felt strangely comfortable sitting next to the Sand ninja, and didn't think twice about taking it off.

"You still have sand in your hair," Hinata said suddenly, gazing at the red clump of hair on Gaara's head. She almost giggled at the remembrance of the awkward scene they had been caught in the last time they had visited the park. "I-I guess I never did get to get it out, did I?" Hinata was proud that she wasn't stuttering as much as she usually did, and allowed a small smile to creep onto her face.

"Yeah…" Gaara said, glancing at the kunoichi out of the corner of his eye. She seemed very relaxed, with her head resting against the tree trunk and the wind blowing through her hair. He looked around and noticed there were quite a bit of people walking along the streets; he didn't remember that many when he had first arrived for his message. "There are a lot of people here."

"Y-yes, there's a festival coming up," Hinata explained, remembering the various fliers she'd seen and conversations she heard about it. "I-if I remember correctly, all of Konoha's allied countries are invited. T-that means you are, too." She said the last part hesitantly, doubting that Gaara even liked festivals; he wasn't exactly the social type.

"I guess it does," Gaara replied, still staring at the large crowds of people. "I'm sure Temari would love to go…" he added under his breath. Hinata remembered the large bag of souvenirs Temari had been carrying, and thought the same thing. "W-would you like to go then?" she said without thinking, turning bright red a moment later. "I-I mean, t-that way Temari-san can go, a-and maybe Kankuro-kun would want to go too, a-and–"

"Sure," Gaara said, interrupting her babbling. "It's not like I have anything better to do." He didn't mention the fact that he pretty much hated festivals, or anything of the sort; he didn't care much for large crowds. Still, he was almost…happy when Hinata asked him to go, for reasons unknown to him. He had no idea that Hinata was feeling the same way.

----------

Temari and Kiba had finally found a hotel that wasn't completely full and reserved a room, already paid for by Tsunade. The three Sand siblings met there later, Temari calling the only bed and making her brothers sleep on either the couch or the floor. Gaara immediately sat down on the couch, silently making it his, leaving Kankuro to make himself comfortable on the floor.

"Hey, did you guys know there was a festival coming up?" Temari asked casually, swinging her legs back and forth as they dangled over the side of the bed. "Do you think we can go? I mean, we just got back from a mission. We should have some fun before we go home."

Kankuro smirked. "Let me guess: that dog boy asked you to go, right?" Temari blushed and looked away. "W-why do you say that?" she asked nervously. "Y-you know I love these sorts of things." Her stuttering gave her away, however, and Kankuro started laughing. "Wow, Temari, are you turning into the Hyuuga girl or something?"

Gaara's head moved slightly so he was looking at his siblings, somewhat interested in the conversation. He noticed that Temari had stopped swinging her legs and was now looking at him rather strangely. "What?" he asked flatly, snapping her out of her trance. "Oh, sorry Gaara…" she muttered, reverting her gaze to the window. At the mention of Hinata, she had remembered her earlier conversation with Kiba about how she had a crush on Gaara, and was seriously wondering if it were true. "So, can we go?" she asked again, changing the subject.

"Whatever," Gaara muttered, failing to mention that he had already made plans to go. Temari squealed excitedly, flopping onto her back on the bed. "Wait, I don't have anything to wear! We'll have to go shopping later!" Both Gaara and Kankuro sighed, knowing it would be a long night.

----------

Hinata fidgeted nervously as she stood outside the door to her father's office, tentatively reaching out to knock only to pull her hand back before it collided with the door. She had already repeated this process several times, and would no doubt continue to do so.

"Hinata-sama?" The kunoichi jumped, turning to see Neji standing behind her. "What are you doing? Is there something you need to talk to Hiashi-sama about?" Hinata hesitated before nodding. "I-I was hoping he would allow me to a-attend the festival that's c-coming up."

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You wouldn't happen to be going with Gaara, would you?" Hinata stared at the floor, her face bright red. "N-n-n-no! W-why do you say that? H-he's just here on a mission, a-and even if we were going t-together it'd be as friends, b-but that isn't to say we are or a-anything…"

Neji smiled. "I get it, Hinata-sama. Would you like me to go in with you to ask Hiashi-sama?" Hinata nodded, her gaze firmly fixed on her shoes, and allowed Neji to knock on the door. The sound of rustling papers could be heard from inside before a rough, "Come in!" was called out. Hiashi looked up from his desk as the two walked in. "Hinata. Neji. What do you need?"

"U-um, Otou-san, I-I was wondering if it would be alright i-if I went to the festival with some f-friends," Hinata said as she nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She was always nervous when confronting her father, since it was clearly known that he didn't think of her as a true heir to the clan. Hiashi's left eyebrow moved slightly. "Oh? And who would these friends be?"

"Her teammates from her squad," Neji said, answering for Hinata. "I was wondering if I could go as well, and perhaps look after them if you like." Hiashi frowned at the lack of respect his nephew was showing him, but seemed to consider the request nonetheless. After a moment, he sighed and said, "Fine, you can go. Usual rules apply, including curfew and such. I expect you both to behave like true Hyuuga. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Otou-san," Hinata said, bowing before she and Neji left the office. She smiled happily once the door was closed behind her, breathing a small smile of relief. "Thanks, Neji-niisan," she said, turning to face her cousin. "I-it was a lot better with you there."

"It was no problem, Hinata-sama," Neji replied. "I was actually considering going to the festival anyway, and it was a useful way to convince Hiashi-sama to let you go. Don't worry; I won't tag along with you once we get there." Hinata blushed slightly and thanked him again before heading off to her room, faced with the ever-difficult question of what to wear.

----------

Hinata arrived at the festival with Neji and Kiba, since Shino had decided not to go. All three were wearing kimonos: Neji's was plain white, Kiba's was blue and white, and Hinata's was lavender decorated with light pink flowers, a matching rose embedded in her hair. They arrived in front of their designated meeting place, Ichiraku's ramen shop, to find that Gaara and Temari were already there. Temari wore a light blue kimono and had a large smile on her face; her hair, instead of being in its usual ponytails, was flowing down her back. Gaara, on the other hand, didn't look to happy in his kimono, which was dark red. He was leaning against the shop with his arms crossed, a scowl on his face.

"Kiba! Hinata-chan! Hi!" Temari sang as she waved. "And…the guy that's with you, too!" Hinata giggled nervously as she introduced Neji. When the introductions were done, Neji claimed that he had to go meet Tenten and excused himself, leaving the four alone. They stood in an awkward silence for a moment before Hinata spoke.

"Y-you both look v-very nice," she said, blushing as she did so. "W-where's Kankuro-kun?" Temari smiled. "He didn't want to come. He said that wearing a kimono wasn't worth it. Gaara was the same way at first, but I convinced him." She laughed slightly as she winked at Hinata, causing the shy kunoichi to adjust her gaze to the lovely decorations of the ramen shop.

"Shut up, Temari," Gaara grumbled, uncrossing his arms as he stepped away from the shop. It was then that Hinata noticed that something was missing – Gaara didn't have his gourd on his back. Temari giggled again – it was obvious she was in high spirits – and ran over and grabbed Kiba's arm. "Come on, let's go! There are so many games that I want to play!" She began pulling him towards the numerous booths, glancing at Gaara and Hinata over her shoulder. "We'll see you two later, alright?" With that, they were gone, lost in the crowds of the festival.

"W-well, should we get g-going, too?" Hinata asked hesitantly, moving her gaze slowly until she met Gaara's eyes. The two stared at each other for a moment before Gaara nodded and started walking towards the bunches of people. Hinata quickly followed, staring at Gaara's hand and thinking about how she wanted to grab it. She shook her head to get rid of the thought, and the two walked in silence.

----------

"Aw, it got away!"

Temari stared at her broken paddle disappointedly, watching the fish she had been trying to catch swim away. She frowned. "I can never win at this game! If we were allowed to use our chakra I would get it no problem!" She glanced at the sign on the side of the booth that read, "Attention all shinobi: No ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, or chakra usage allowed."

Kiba laughed and bent down beside her, paying the vender for another try. He took a new paddle and gently dipped it in the water, slowly scooping up the fish. "See, you have to be patient. If you go to fast, it will break and the fish will get away." The paddle continued its slow journey upward and broke the surface of the water, the fish flapping on top.

"We have a winner!" the vender said as he grabbed a plastic bag full of water and gently put the fish inside. After the top was securely fastened he handed the bag to Kiba, who immediately gave it to Temari. "There you go. That was the one you wanted, right?" Temari nodded and smiled. "Thanks."

Temari held her fish firmly in her arms as they went to find some food, buying some dango from a stall and heading towards a bench to eat. "Hmm, I still need a name for this little guy," Temari said, looking down at the fish in her lap; it was bright blue, an odd color for a fish. She took one of her dumplings and popped it in her mouth, thinking as she chewed. "I know! How about Aoi? I mean, you named Akamaru because his fur changes to red when you give him one of those pills, right? I saw during the Chuunin Exam," she added, noticing Kiba's confused look; he had been wondering how she knew so much about his dog.

"Yeah, Aoi sounds like a good name," Kiba said, taking a bite of his own dango. "It's kind of ironic that you like fish so much. I mean, since you don't like water and all." Temari turned away, slightly embarrassed. "Y-yeah, well, I've always liked animals, and fish are animals, right?" She stroked the bag lovingly. "I've always wanted a pet, and it looks like I've finally got one!"

"You should have come to us," Kiba said, still munching on his dango. "Our family breeds dogs." Temari laughed. "Thanks, but if I had gotten a dog, Gaara probably would have tortured it or something. Of course, he's gotten a lot better since the Chuunin Exam," she added quickly, seeing Kiba's horrified expression. "Speaking of dogs, where's Akamaru?"

"I left him at home," Kiba replied. "He doesn't really like big crowds. Besides, he'd probably get stepped on if he wandered off or something." Temari smiled as she finished off her dango, tossing the leftover stick into a nearby trash bin. She set Aoi down on the bench as she stood and stretched, tucking her hair behind one ear. "Hey, wait here for a sec, ok?" She said as she took off running towards the booths. "I'll be right back!"

Kiba stared after her for a moment, confused, before finishing his dango as well. He looked at Aoi, who was swimming around in its bag. "Do you know where she went?" he asked, poking the bag with his finger. Five minutes later, he saw Temari running towards him, holding something in her arms. Upon closer inspection, Kiba saw that it was another fish, but this one was green.

"I'm back!" the kunoichi said, plopping back down on the bench. "Miss me?" Kiba smiled and looked at the fish. "I see you caught one, too," he observed. "Now Aoi has a friend." Temari shook her head and handed him the bag. "Nope. This one is for you. I figured since you got me one, I should get you one, too." Kiba blushed slightly as he took the fish. "T-thanks."

"Now you have to name it."

Kiba thought a minute. "Well, how about Midori? You named yours after its color, so I'll do the same." Temari's smiled widened as she laid her head on his shoulder. "I'd like that," she said. Kiba's skin tickled from the touch of the Sand ninja's hair against his neck, but at that moment, he didn't care. He wrapped his arm around Temari and held her close, leaving his fish next to hers on the bench.

"Hey, Kiba?"

"Hmm?"

"Let's stay like this for awhile…"

Kiba smiled. "Yeah."

----------

Gaara and Hinata had been walking in silence for some time now. Gaara would sometimes look absently at one of the booths, but otherwise showed no interest in the festival. He would glare at anyone who even slightly brushed him, making his dislike of crowds show. Hinata was just watching him, wondering if he even wanted to be there; but there was one booth that caught her eye.

"U-um, Gaara-kun?" she asked hesitantly. Gaara stopped and looked at her. "W-would you mind if we s-stopped at that booth?" She pointed to a stand labeled 'Ring Toss'. Gaara stared at it. "I-I've always wanted to t-try it," Hinata added when she got no reply. The Sand shinobi nodded. "Sure," he said, realizing for the first time that he had been completely ignoring the kunoichi.

Hinata smiled and ran over to the booth; once she had paid, she was given five rings. Before she started, so looked around at the prizes to see what she could win. "Ah, that stuffed rabbit is adorable!" she said to herself as she saw a large white rabbit hanging in the back of the stall. To win it, you needed to hit at least four bottles with the rings. Hinata, however, only managed to ring one, and was given a small keychain as her prize.

""W-well, I guess I'm not very good at this, huh, Gaara-kun?" she said, turning to face her companion; but he wasn't there. "G-Gaara-kun?" Hinata looked at the booth again, and saw Gaara with five rings in his hand. In a flash, all five rings found their way around a bottle, and the vender took the rabbit off the wall. "You wanted this one, right?" Gaara said, handing Hinata the plush toy.

Hinata stared at it a moment before taking it, holding it tightly in her arms. "Y-yes. Thank you very much, Gaara-kun." She buried her face in its fur as she followed Gaara, who was walking away from the crowd. "U-um, Gaara-kun? Where are we going?" she asked as they went farther and farther away from the festival; it was now dark, and she couldn't tell where they were.

Gaara didn't answer, but moved a tree branch out of the path so she wouldn't bump into it. _Why are there trees here?_ Hinata wondered. _And how does Gaara-kun know where we're going when I don't?_

"Be careful," Gaara said, snapping her out of her thoughts. "There are some rocks up ahead." Hinata nodded, though she doubted Gaara could see her; the trees were covering up the full moon, and it was all but pitch black. She couldn't even see the path, and sure enough, ended up tripping on a large rock.

Hinata stumbled in the darkness, trying not to bump into anything as she tried to regain her balance. She felt an arm grab hers and pull her upright, and could feel her face heat up under Gaara's gaze. "I told you to be careful, didn't I?" He said, making sure she was steady before releasing his grasp on her arm.

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata said quietly. "I-I couldn't see in the dark." Out loud, the excuse sounded like something a little kid would say, and she felt even more embarrassed. Gaara sighed. "It's alright. We're almost there anyway." He reached out and grabbed her hand, then began leading her along the path. Hinata's grasp on her rabbit tightened as she stared at Gaara's hand, which was barely visible in the night. She was glad it was dark; otherwise her red face would have been clearly noticeable.

Hinata resisted the urge to ask once again where they were going, knowing it would only come out as a squeak. Instead she followed in silence, happiness slowly swelling inside her at Gaara's touch. She was disappointed when he let go of her hand, and let her know they had arrived at their destination with a simple, "We're here."

Hinata looked up, and found herself in a large clearing. In front of her was a small lake, shimmering in the moonlight. The moon was reflected on the water's surface, broken only by soft ripples created by the light breeze. Fireflies danced above the water, creating an almost magical look to the place.

"I-it's beautiful!" Hinata said, walking over to the lake's edge and dipping her hand in the cool water. "H-how did you know this was here?" Gaara walked over and stood beside her. "I found it earlier after we finished shopping with Temari," he explained. "I decided to look around and found this."

"I-I've never seen anything like this before!" Hinata said, gazing up at the full moon. "I-I mean, I've been to this lake before, b-but never at night! It really is amazing…" She lifted her hand from the water and stood back up, looking at Gaara. "B-but why did you bring me here? If you already saw it earlier, there's r-really no reason for you to see it again…"

"I thought you would like it," Gaara said flatly. "You're the one who invited me in the first place, so I thought I'd return the favor." He looked at Hinata, and their eyes met. "Now I have a question for you: why did you do that?" He was referring to the end of their mission, when Hinata had boldly kissed him on the cheek. The kunoichi felt the blush on her face deepen as she broke their gaze. "I-I'm not sure," she replied honestly. "T-there are a lot of things I don't understand right now."

Gaara stared at her, waiting for an explanation. Hinata's mind whirled. What was she supposed to say? That she was confused because she's been feeling the same way she used to feel when she was around Naruto? That she might be…in love with him? Hinata's grip on her rabbit tightened to the point that her nails were digging into the fur as she thought of a response.

"D-do you remember how we first met?" she asked, instead of replying to the original question she had been asked. "H-how we bumped into each other before the mission started? I remember that the first thing I thought was, 'Oh, it's the shinobi from the Chuunin Exam'. I didn't know your name, or even that you were here to go on a mission with my team." The stutter she'd had when she first began talking was gone; now she was speaking with confidence.

"But now, after everything that's happened, it feels like I know so much more about you. Even if you didn't say it out loud, little by little I started to learn more about you. Like how you don't like to stay behind and let others do all the fighting, or how you always try your best at anything you do. Even now, I've learned that you don't like things like festivals or crowds.

"But you still came with me tonight, even though you didn't want to. It made me…very happy. It was like the happiness I felt when you protected me. Whenever I looked up and saw your sand in front of me, or knew that you were standing beside me, I felt so incredibly happy, no matter what dangerous situation we were in. And when you…you rescued me from Michio, all the fear I had vanished. I…I really like you, Gaara-kun!"

Gaara's eyes widened in shock when he heard her words. No one had ever told him anything close to that, and he wasn't sure what he was feeling. Anger? Confusion? Happiness? He wasn't sure, but it was something unlike anything he had ever felt before. And he enjoyed the feeling.

"You know, you confused me, too," he said, causing the red Hinata to look up at him. "You were one of the first people to not run away when you saw me, and soon it felt like it had become my duty to protect you from harm; that something bad would happen if I failed. Before, the only things I felt were anger and pain. But during our missions, I felt things that were strange to me. I think…I might have been happy. Even now, your words are confusing me, and there's a whirlwind of emotions I can't control. But oddly…I don't mind it."

Before Hinata's mind could react, her body was moving on its own. Her feet moved so that she was standing on her toes, and her hands moved up to the sides of Gaara's face; a moment later, their lips met. When Gaara didn't resist, the kiss deepened, and soon both were lost in it. As they broke, Hinata's hands fell from his face and rested against his chest, where they were soon met by her face pressed snuggly against it.

"Gaara-kun, you'll come back soon, right?

"Yeah."

_The End_


End file.
